Students co-operate to save the world on a Friday afternoon in the Library!

You may have noticed something strange going on at the back of the Platform on Level 3 of the JHB Library on Friday 29 March…

The Library has been collaborating with the award-winning Tabletop Gaming Society (Brookes Union Society of the Year 2019) to run board games sessions for students to take a well-earned break from their studies.

A set of six board games was chosen by Learning Resources staff based around the theme of collaboration – they are all games where players work together to beat the game instead of competing directly with each other, helping to develop teamwork and strategic thinking skills as well as offering opportunities to relax and be social. We were really pleased to see so many students enjoying the most recent session, where we had three games running simultaneously as players tried to avoid getting buried in sand or attacked by goblins.

Members of the Tabletop Gaming Society got involved to help us to run the sessions and teach the games to new players. Natasha Chen, a Game Master with the society, said:

“It’s refreshing to spend some time playing games that involve working with my fellow teammates rather than plotting their downfall, even when the odds are stacked against us. So we might have drowned in the sands of the Forbidden Desert… and let dangerous bacteria, viruses, and pathogens consume the world in Pandemic… But I had a lot of fun playing the games and it was wonderful to see so many people turn up! I hope to have another session soon and it’s definitely an event worth checking out!”

We’re already planning the next one – keep an eye on Twitter and screens across campus!

Pandemic You are disease-fighting specialists, with a mission to cure four simultaneous epidemics before they get out of control…	Castle Panic Work with your friends to defend your castle against a horde of monsters, and make sure you have some walls left standing…	Forbidden Desert Work together against the game to survive the harsh desert environment and find a mysterious flying machine buried in the ruins of an ancient city…

– Isabel Virgo, Academic Liaison Librarian (Business)