Rolling for Change

Exploring How Games Can Be Transformational

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Hey guys,

Part of the work I want to do with Rolling for Change is to catalog gaming experiences. There is a survey that I have created that explores our relationships with games. It is the first such survey I have created so it is a little clunky, but the intent is to collect gaming experiences. If you choose to participate and you provide good data, you will be entered to win a gift card from Cool Stuff Inc so you can go and get more gaming experiences. The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NZBPMDW

 

Also, while I have your attention. I just listened to a fantastic episode of a podcast called Nights at the game table. The guys did a fantastic job on developing an episode about the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund. It will pull at your heart strings and you will be able to belileve that we as a community can do anything. Please go listen and support this podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/65262/443487-episode-2-jack

More episodes are coming so stay tuned. Thanks for listening. Please don’t forget to contact us at gamers@rollingforchange.com and follow us on twitter @rollforchange

Bad Habit

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#5: This episode focuses on the game Bad Habit by Glen Given. It is a deduction game about non-suicidal self injury. As such please be aware that some of our discussion contains sensitive material and may not be suitable for all listeners.

Also of note here, the episode was recorded very early in the formulation of Rolling for Change. This means that the sound quality is to my ears quite bad. There is a huge learning curve in developing a podcast and sound editing, getting the right equipment, and the right software is part of that learning curve. I apologize for the sound but we felt the discussion and the interview were so worthwhile that they needed to be presented regardless of those challenges.

The following information comes from the webpage for Bad Habit:

If you or any friends/family needs help for self-harm and you’re not sure where to turn, call the S.A.F.E. Alternatives information line in the U.S. at (800) 366-8288 for referrals and support for cutting and self-harm. If you are in the middle of a crisis, feeling suicidal and need help right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the U.S. at (800) 273-8255. For a suicide helpline outside the U.S., visit Befrienders Worldwide

To learn more about Bad Habit and Glen Given please check out http://www.gamesbyplaydate.com/

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How To Be A Therapeutic RPG Game Master

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#4: On this episode Josué interviews Adam Johns and Adam Davis, professional game masters and founders of Wheelhouse Workshop, where they run groups using tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons to help teens build real-life social skills.

This is part 2 (of 2) of the interview. For the first half check out the episode “How To Become A Therapeutic RPG Game Master” on Geek Therapy. If you are on iTunes, click here.

Wheelhouse Workshop: http://www.wheelhouseworkshop.com/

Geek Therapy on iTunes:https://itun.es/us/ZuSJG.c

Geek Therapy website: http://www.geektherapy.com/

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Cooperative Games

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#3: In this episode Brian and I discuss the psychology of cooperative games. The discussion looks at definitions, research and applications to education and therapy.

Thanks for downloading another episode of Rolling For Change. We are excited to have you here and we really look forward to your feedback and participation in our discussion. If you like what we are doing let us know by sending email to gamers@rollingforchange.com Follow us on Twitter @rollforchange Share us on facebook, and rate us on iTunes.

Thanks for listening, keep rolling for change!

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A Big Hello to Fellow Rollers

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Rolling for Change is an idea we have been working on for quite some time now. The idea began shortly after I, (Woody) participated in a discussion with Josue over at his Geek Therapy podcast: http://www.geektherapy.com/podcast/episode-34-tabletop-therapy It was shortly after this exchange that I began thinking about how we could further develop this conversation. The goal was to create dialogue about the ways that the games we love touch our lives and initiate change. I myself had multiple experiences in my game play in which I identified that the game was encouraging a change in the way I manage conflict or social relationships, or even forcing me to develop an alternative point of view and correct course accordingly. This awareness lead me to believe that this happened for others as well, and being a good social scientist I went in search of answers. The consensus among gamers at various conventions, and in the literature indicated that this was not an isolated experience and that many were having life changing experiences within the context of the cardboard universe. This lead to a few presentations at local conventions. The biggest surprise was Dragoncon 2014. We had a standing room only group, and 50 people were turned away. That was some real proof that we were hitting a note that needed to be played. Another presentation was made at Gencon 2015. We had a smaller turn out, but it was still clear that this is a conversation that gamers want to have. So those are the auspicious beginnings of our little adventure.

We have 5 initial episodes and we are working on editing them and getting them out as quickly as possible. There is still a lot of format tweaking and planning to get this show ready for primetime. You may have noticed that audio is a little fuzzy and there is some disorganization…all to be expected. Rolling for Change is a newborn. He or she will stumble, make bad judgement calls, and generally make a mess, but with some care and effort we can watch RFC grow, and do all the cute and obnoxious things that babies do. As we do so, we invite you listeners to provide feedback, offer suggestions and talk about your experiences of games. The educational and psychological aspects of gaming will be discussed along the way, but the experience, the lived experience of gaming is what I believe offers the benefit. We are just looking for ways to talk about that experience.

If you are so inclined you can write to us at gamers@rollingforchange.com You can follow our twitter account @rollforchange and we will likely eventually stretch out to a BGG forum and a facebook group. Baby steps….baby steps.

Thanks for checking us out! Please rate us and comment so that we know you are listening. We have a lot more content coming and it’s only going to get better.

Keep rolling,

Woody