Monthly Archives: December 2017

Registration for ShushCon 2018 is Now Open

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The Waccamaw Neck Branch Library (located in Pawleys Island, South Carolina) has opened registration for ShushCon 2018. ShushCon is a “games and geekery” convention that’ll be held from March 23 through March 25. Attendees will be able to try out a large number of video games, tabletop games, and escape rooms, while also taking part in events related to cosplay, anime, coding, and more.

The library will also host a Computational Thinking Games Workshop for librarians on March 23.

If you’re interested in attending ShushCon 2018, you can sign up for a free event badge with the Registration Form.

Multiplayer Games for the Switch @ Games In Libraries

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Even though it’s been available for less than a year, the Nintendo Switch already has a huge catalog of exciting multiplayer titles. If you’re looking to add a Switch to your library programming schedule, the ALA’s Games In Libraries blog has created a list of the best multiplayer experiences on the console:

Since its launch, Nintendo’s newest console, the Switch, has seen an explosion in titles available. Many lend themselves well to multiplayer – here is a list of some particular recent standouts, around which a library could provide a good social gaming experience.

The list includes nine titles, and I’m a big fan of both Snipperclips Plus and Enter the Gungeon for multiplayer gaming.

And if you’re interested in cooperative multiplayer gaming, you might want to check out a similar list that was recently published by Inverse Genius’s Games in Schools and Libraries blog.

Running a Game Convention at Your Library

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Game conventions come in all shapes and sizes… from small local shows all the way up to the sprawling PAX expos held every year in Seattle, Boston, San Antonio, and Philadelphia. In a bid to move beyond “Game Nights,” many public libraries are now in the business of running their own game conventions.

Believe it or not, this task isn’t as hard as you might think. Especially because there’s no one way to organize a game convention at your library, and there’s actually many different approaches you can try…

  • Partner with a local game shop to host demonstrations of new games.
  • Recruit local game developers to show off their latest projects.
  • Ask for volunteers in your community willing to share their game knowledge.
  • Some combination of all three!
  • Or something else I haven’t thought of!

But the best way to get ideas for your game convention might be to reach out to librarians who have done it in the past.

List of Library-Organized Game Conventions
Here’s a small selection of libraries who have organized their own game convention. If you’d like your convention added to the list, please let me know…

Comicopolis
Location: Lockport Branch of White Oak Library in Lockport, Illinois
Links: Convention Website | Contact Page

Rochester Game Festival
Location: Irondequoit Public Library in Rochester, New York
Links: Convention Website | Contact Page

OctaCon
Location: Bethpage Public Library in Bethpage, New York
Links: Convention Website | Contact Page

ShushCon
Location: Waccamaw Neck Branch of Georgetown County Library in Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Links: Convention Website | Contact Page

Cooperative Four-Player Video Games @ Inverse Genius

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There’s nothing quite like cramming four people around a video game screen and expecting them all to cooperate. And wouldn’t you know, the people at Inverse Genius’s Games in Schools and Libraries blog agree:

Do your gamers want to work together instead of compete? Do they want a challenge that is going to take everyone give their all to overcome? Cooperative games have players working together as a team to overcome the computer or some set challenge. There are so many great cooperative games out there. Here’s a list of some of our favorites!

Their suggestions run through some of the best four-player cooperative games on the PC and consoles today, including Overcooked, Pac-Man 256, Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (a VGL favorite), and more.