The Iron Man of Gaming Tournament: A Program Idea

I am a lucky librarian.  I have a wonderful staff with whom I work with on  Game Night Central, our reoccurring gaming program at the Cape May County Library.  We usually have 3-5 gaming programs a month (one per week) and one tournament every 3 months.  In July 2009, we also unveiled our new circulating video game collection.  At the end of 2009, we had 120 games in our collection which circulated 1,361 times.  Currently, we have expanded the collection to now include 297 circulating video games.

In mid 2009, the Game Night Central staff (Chris Hunnicutt, Mike Trout, and Jesse Ridge) came to me with a plan for a big end of the year event.  They wanted to go out with a bang.  Their idea?

A tournament veiled in secrecy that pitted our game night attendees against some retro games that they may or may not have played.  The prize?  Gift cards to local video game stores.  It’s just that simple.  Switch up that games.  Dig for something out of the ordinary.

What really hooked me on this program were the following points:

1. GET OBSCURE AND CREATIVE! It wasn’t just all about console gaming.  One part of the program had the participants grabbing the Nintendo DS to hit up Elite Beat Agents.  Many people were expecting a music game, but this?!?!?!  It threw them for a loop and really challenged them to think outside the box.  Our staff also incorporated some card based gaming into the event.  Anyone up for some Munchkin?
2. EDUCATE! A program like this isn’t just about all the fun everyone is having.  It’s about education.  One of the important things overlooked with video games is that they have a rich history.  It wasn’t all just ONE DAY THERE WAS ROCK BAND AND THAT WAS ALL.  You have to go back and look at the whole history to understand how we got here.  At first, it was a fad.  Then it become a thing only a select group of people did.  After that, the public started catching on.  Now, video games are finally starting to be recognized as a valid form of media.  A program like this will help your users know that there’s a rich history to be discovered.

The kids and teens at the event were flabbergasted and excited.  The program was something new and challenging.  I can’t wait to do it again in 2010.

A quick thanks to Chris Hunnicutt, Mike Trout, and Jesse Ridge (Game Night Central Staff at the Cape May County Library).  You make it happen and for that I am eternally thankful.