Tabletop Alliance seeks to be a clearing house of educational advancement through the incorporation of games into education and community organizations/programs. This page is a descriptive listing of some of the different parts of how we achieve that mission. To learn more about any section please click “Learn More.” The resources described below are:

Do you use games towards your outcomes? We would love your help in demonstrating the presence of games by completing this quick survey! http://bit.ly/presenceofgames

Are you curious about learning what are some potential educational outcomes for different games? We continually update and add to our “Games & Outcomes” site which lists games into a searchable and sortable table. For basic information about the game we list the:

For general outcome ideas we have broken those into four main categories:

  • Name & Image
  • “Best Player Count” as listed by players on BoardGameGeek.com
  • Any respective “Tags” that can be associated with the game, such as:
    • Type of Game:
      • Competitive
      • Cooperative
      • Semi-Coop
      • Solo
      • Two-Player
    • Ties to the specific topics:
      • Historic
      • Role Playing
      • Science – Biology
      • Science – Earth
      • Science – Physics
  • Cognitive Development – These are game outcomes that foster or require an internal cognitive load within and/or amongst the players. Examples of cognitive development outcomes in games include:
    • Comprehension
    • Creative Thinking
    • Deductive/Inductive Reasoning
    • Knowledge Retention
    • Problem Solving
    • Spacial Awareness
    • Quick Thinking
    • Statistical Analysis
  • Development of Self – These are outcomes that have potential impacts on the individual players during the experience. Examples of development of self include:
    • Coping with loss
    • Goal Setting
    • Moral/Ethical Development
    • Social Skill Development
    • Stress Reduction
  • Working with Others – These are outcomes aligned with working cooperatively across difference. Often requiring some sort of transmission of knowledge, planning, or otherwise in which players are presented with a social connection in which they need to utilize to be effective. Examples of working with others outcomes include:
    • Appreciative Inquiry
    • Communication Skill Development
    • Cooperation
    • Fostering “Win-Win” Scenarios
    • Negotiation
    • Teamwork
  • Other – As one may expect there are a myriad of potential outcomes that games may facilitate. The other outcomes category is for those outcomes that did not fit under one of the previous categories directly and/or have a specific outcome that is unique. Examples of other outcomes include:
    • Coding/Programming
    • Financial Management
    • Logistics
    • Resource Management
    • Story Telling
    • Valuation

Besides for our collection of scholarly articles, we also want to get the latest information out to raise up the voices of those who have experiences in using gaming in education of community programs. As such we have authors reach out to us to share their articles with us for review prior to our posting.

Write for Tabletop Alliance! – Do you have experiences that you want to write about that have to do with the use of gaming in education or community programs? Contact us so that we can start featuring your writing on the site! Email Article@TabletopAlliance.org with your article ideas!

Something that is very important to us is showcasing how the use of games to reach education and community outcomes is not new, rather it has been occurring for hundreds of years dating back to the use of games to teach military tactics. Now, we are not teaching military tactics, however since then there have been a continual set of publications regarding the use of games to meet outcomes.

We have compiled more than 80 scholarly peer-reviewed articles for you to search on Google Scholar or your educational research database to showcase different articles including:

  • Qualitative and/or Quantitative studies
  • Literature reviews
  • Meta-Analysis
  • Conceptual Papers
  • Case Studies

If the term ‘peer-reviewed’ is new to you, don’t fret as this is the case for many. Peer-reviewed means that the article in question was developed and then sent to the publisher who has a group of scholars within that particular field of study review the article to ensure robustness, following of applicable standards, importance, and more.

For example, there are several articles listed in which medical school programs have developed in-house games to convey important lessons for the soon to be medical practitioners. These articles were then sent to the respective medical journal who understands the importance of properly educating new medical professionals, what data will be statistically or qualitatively important to advancing their field, the professionalism of the proposed article, and more. Once the article clears this hurdle, which can take months of work, it may then be slated for publication.

Throughout the year we host different educational events to bring the community together, share best practices, offer unique opportuntities and more. Some of the educational events we host include:

  • Webinars
  • Seminars
  • Attending/Presenting at Conferences
  • Annual Conference

As we continue to grow, increase our access to resources, and enhance the network we look forward to offering more and more educational events.

Tabletop Alliance is here to raise up the voices of those doing great work to bring gaming into education and community programs. As such there are voices out in the world that are doing exactly that which we want to highlight. In addition, there are also voices, text, and videos that we believe are helpful to all who want to increase gaming in their work and lives. We encourage you to checkout their content!

A major cornerstone of Tabletop Alliance is the creation and development of gaming Guilds across the United States. These can be after school advised groups, classes, and/or community programs of all shapes and sizes! The best way to learn about this is by checking how to create a Guild and by reaching out to us at Guild@TabletopAlliance.org.