Alastair Kocho-Williams

Off to class!

I teach a course in wargaming at Clarkson University. Students play, analyse and design games. The course is incredibly popular.

It involves my infamous cart of games to support teaching…

Right. Also fountain pens are the way to go.

But we are both in the realm of supposition. I teach at a tech school so our sample bases may also vary.

I have a suspicion that students are mostly not admitting to their gen-AI usage.

… - fast-paced, easy to learn, but most importantly fun.

From feedback, and from watching students play , the approach seems to be very successful. Students are talking more than ever in First Year Seminar, they are laughing, having fun, and the ice is well and truly broken.

Earlier this year I came up with an idea to use a common game as a touchstone for all incoming first year students at @ClarksonUniv, and we are giving it a go this academic year. This week every new first year student will have played it.

The game I selected is Coup…

Cart is loaded for the first day of classes!

Which games do you think students will borrow to play first?

This summer I have learned to develop blueprints in Unreal Engine. I have got to the point where I have this functioning, and a plan to integrate digital wargame design into my teaching.

Teaching starts next week so it’s time to get the cart ready.

Something exciting coming for wargaming in Northern New York…

I have all of Ogre. Great introduction and small as you note. I have things with figures - Memoir 44 always goes over well, but students do note that Axis and Allies is tedious to set up.

Hmm…

I know it’s July, but I’m starting to prep for the coming semester and need to load up the cart for my wargaming course.

What games should I have on it on day one?

A reminder…

I had a literal fever dream, and came up with an idea for a war game with sheep, called Battlesheep.

This is what happens to war gamers who also keep sheep…

This was an instaback.

Student game designs from my Wargaming course, presented at the Research and Project Showcase @ClarksonUniv today.

Off to class!

Prototype complete!

Exciting new game from @sebastianbae.bsky.social

Some else did it.

Well, I’m more from the Sydenham and Paxton Green side of the Palace.

But also; everything in London is downhill once you are from Crystal Palace

Trying to explain to my students that I’m from a part of London called Crystal Palace resulted in some confusion today.

Cards for my prototype are here!

The cycler was something I have drawn from. Part of my game involves raiding trains for supply on the lines of communication, but your game helped me figure out dealing with how trains don’t run all the time.

I was going to present a COIN design at this conference. On war in Ukraine over 100 years ago. Definitely borrowed a few things from Red Dust Rebellion in my thinking on it…

This isn’t even cross border. But it just seems too high risk right now.

Prototype finished. Waiting for cards to come from the printer and then onto playtesting!