The Board Game Faith Newsletter, Issue 11
Hello, Board Game Faithful!
Kevin: North Carolina is currently covered in green pollen. It’s the annoying pollen phase. Set a plate outside, return in 20 minutes, and you have free pollen! Achoo.
Daniel: There are a lot of big changes coming up in our family–all good changes (except for the sadness of saying goodbye to wonderful people), but big changes nonetheless: new jobs, new areas of study, new house, new city to call home (you may have noticed that the frequency of our social media posts has temporarily lessened of late…that’s why…sorry). In the midst of the stress that so often accompanies even good change, I was grateful to read an article today about the added importance of making time for play when life feels topsy-turvy. If we need another reason to be thankful for games, there it is: they help to ground us and re-center us in the midst of change (even the good kind).
Behind the Episodes
Daniel: It was a blast interviewing Kevin in our last episode (episode 25) about his college class on board games and religion. The episode actually received the highest first-day total downloads count of anything else we’ve recorded! I am convinced that this outcome is the result of what I am dubbing “The Kevin Effect”: the inevitable awesomeness that results from Kevin serving as both co-host AND guest. For the sake of the podcast, I am considering cutting myself out completely, and just letting Kevin interview himself from here on out. That would be podcast gold!
Kevin: What?
Coming Up
Kevin: If you haven’t looked us up on YouTube, please do so. The video is turning out pretty good. Remember cable TV where you had all these various channels? YouTube is the new cable TV. Plus, you can use it anywhere, plus it changes the channels for you if you leave it in auto-play mode (meaning it shows different content)! We live in an age of miracles.
Daniel: We are preparing to record our latest episode with Takuyo Ono, a Buddhist priest in Yamagata, Japan, who incorporates board games into his temple’s ministry. We are super excited about getting to talk with him, and are looking forward to sharing the conversation with you all.
Games We're All About Right Now
Kevin: I picked up a copy of The Captain Is Dead based on the wonderful 3 Minute Board Games YouTube channel. It is a great little game, very Pandemic-like in terms of having to fend off various disasters while you attempt to win the game. The Star Trek humor is perfect. Unlike Daniel (see below), I played the game correctly. Also, unlike Daniel, I totally lost. But it’s still awesome.Daniel: On a recent Space-Biff Space-Cast episode, Dan Thurot (our guest on BGF episode 23) interviewed Blaž Gracar about his award-winning solo game, “All Is Bomb.” I ordered it almost immediately from the Game Crafter, and have been enjoying it ever since. I was proud of myself for winning my first game, until I realized I had misunderstood the rules. Since that time, this quick 18-card game has proved extremely challenging and difficult to win, but very very fun.
Spirituality
Kevin: My favorite part of Saint Augustine’s 4th century spiritual autobiography The Confessions (10.18): “The woman who lost her drachma searched for it with a lamp (Luke 15:8). She would not have found it unless she remembered it. When she found it, how could she know it was the one she lost, if she had failed to remember it?”
Augustine is speaking of our memory of God and of heaven. No one has seen God or heaven. So how do we know about these things, unless we have some memory of them that we have forgotten? This is how we recognize these ideas for their truth. We already know them, we just lost them.
Daniel: That Catholic theologian Richard Rohr (who is awesome, by the way) argues that much of the polarization in the world today is the result of “dualistic thinking,” which is an approach to life grounded in the often unspoken assumption that everything can always be divided up into one of two camps (“right or wrong,” “good or bad,” “liberal or conservative,” “victim or villain,” etc.). Dualistic thinking is responsible for much of the suffering of the world, Rohr says, because it ignores most of the complexities and gray areas that make us human. And yet, the problem is that if we try to argue against dualistic thinking directly, we become dualistic ourselves (“you people who believe in dualistic thinking are wrong and I’m right!” - BOOM! More dualism!). The genius of Jesus and other spiritual giants, Rohr says, is their decision to address dualism indirectly by telling stories and asking questions.
In my mind, games also accomplish the same thing. By giving us space to focus on something that doesn’t divide us, games play an important role in dismantling some of the world’s dualism by helping us get to know the complexities and beauty of others around the table.
Media We're Digging Right Now
Kevin: Yay for The Mandalorian! One of the best things I’ve seen on TV in years. I love the short episodes, the humor, the cute puppetry of Baby Yoda, and the sense of style.
Daniel: Last week my friend Chris introduced me to the music of J Lind, and I have been listening to his works on endless repeat almost ever since. His melodies stay with you (in a good way), and his lyrics are deeply spiritual, authentic, and thoughtful. I’ve put some of my favorites on our Board Game Faith playlists (YouTube and Spotify). And if you’re looking for an entire album experience, check out his The Land of Canaan, an extended meditation on the story of the binding and near-sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19).
Thank You!
Thanks so much for being a part of the BGF community. We are grateful for each of you and the ways you make the world more awesome. And if you haven’t had a chance to tell us a little about yourself yet, we would love it if you could fill out this form please!