Galena High School Boardgame Library
Short Version: I'm a high school English teacher looking to establish a boardgame library for students in a rural Missouri school. The goal is to use the library to support an after school tabletop club and an elective class on game design.
Long Version: Hello! My name is Caleb Stokes. I’m an English teacher at Galena High School in Galena, MO.
On the weekends, I’m a tabletop game designer. In the rare instance one of my students finds my work online and brings it up in class, I’ve found that they regard the topic as endlessly interesting, despite having little or no experience with analog games. Any time I’ve been able to use a boardgame or RPG to reinforce, teach, or assess a learning activity, the increase in classroom motivation and engagement has been profound. I’ve had students that wouldn’t write me a one-page essay complete 30-page RPG scenarios over the course of a single weekend. I’ve had students failing math create complicated probability charts for the card game they just designed.
I’ve done what I can to gamify my classroom. I’ve taught Tabletop Game Workshops in summer school and used the structure of boardgame rules to practice technical writing. Thus far, it’s the best method I’ve found to coax meaningful, project-based learning activities out of the most reluctant students. Though the cultural change owes primarily to video games, the language of games has surrounded Generation Z for their entire lives. Tabletop game design reaches students in a medium with which they are innately comfortable while employing analog materials affordable to small rural school districts.
Well...mostly affordable. I’ve reached the limit of what I can provide students out of my own boardgame collection. Galena is located more than an hour away from the nearest game store. Though Amazon is an option for students interested in the hobby, only 45% of our students have internet in the home. At nearly 80% free and reduced lunch, the burden of poverty is too great for many of our students to gain exposure to an artistic medium that can be prohibitively expensive at times. I’ve already donated more than 20 games using my own funds, and the school has already purchased hundreds of dollars in supplies for prototype construction. We can no longer continue the effort alone.
That is why I’m seeking your help: I hope to establish a boardgame library at Galena High School. Though I believe I can continue to expand the catalogue in the coming years with personal donations, the cost to establish an initial collection of classroom-appropriate boardgames and RPGs is a task that will take a community.
I’ve selected a variety of starting games that can be found here , organized so as to maximize exposure to different mechanics and themes. I’ve secured the help of Metagames Unlimited in Springfield, MO , who has kindly offered the games at a discount. However, in order to see the library get started, we need $550 for initial costs.
If funded, I will utilize our boardgame library in the following ways:
Galena will add a Tabletop Game Design elective to our offering of English classes. Using the library and a classroom format of rotating stations, the class will familiarize students with a variety of game mechanics and design philosophies, using project-based learning units to assess students in a variety of reading comprehension, technical writing, graphic design, and other academic/vocational skills.
Galena High School will also start a Tabletop Game Club, providing students with a safe after-school activity while engaging them with a variety of games dealing in educational, historical, and creative themes.
As a person with decades of experience both in education and game design, I truly feel as if this simple gift will provide untold benefits to many students at Galena High School. Any help you could provide -- even if it just sharing our link around your social networks -- would be greatly appreciated and go a long way to providing novel learning opportunities to some deserving kids.
