The Board Game Faith Newsletter, Issue 13
Hello, Board Game Faithful!
Daniel: Some of you know already that we are in the midst of moving houses. Currently almost all of my games are in larger boxes waiting to be loaded onto the truck. While the moving boxes are kind of a sad and unsettling sight, seeing them all together also is a reminder to me of the many friends and family who have gathered around tables to play those games with me. I’m thankful to have such dear persons–and the games they play–a part of my life wherever we go.
Behind the Episodes
Kevin: I continue to experiment with the amazing technology that is developing, such as using your mobile phone’s camera for a video feed and having an AI generated transcription. YouTube video podcasting is a real thing now. We live in a time of wonders! But things can fail too, like the audio that was disappointing in the last episode (“Spiritual Lessons of Negotiation Games”). I had replaced a cord, and even though it was the right kind of cord it was not labeled for audio use. So … it was maybe that? I wasn’t sure about the topic TBH, but Daniel had so many great ideas (as usual) that it really came together.
Daniel: “Spiritual Lessons of Negotiation Games” was a fun episode to record, even though listening to it I feel like I sound a little distracted at the start (sorry about that). I was worried that I might have alienated some of our listeners when I got into my reaction to watching sports, so I was grateful to hear from a listener who said they felt the same way!
Coming Up
Daniel: So excited about episode 29! Mandi Hutchinson, from the Salt and Sass game podcast, will be joining us to revisit a popular topic from episode 6: “Games that Teach”! In addition to being one of my favorite board game podcasters for several years now, Mandi is also a teacher, so you know she’ll have some awesome insights to share.
Games We're All About Right Now
Kevin: Have you ever had a good few rounds in Frostpunk and thought you might actually win, and then you forget to fuel the Generator and didn’t plan on needing a medical post and then a bunch of people died and the rest of the community lost hope and then you lost? That’s the game that is KILLING me right now. Darn you apocalyptic steampunk board games that I stink at! What I don’t stink at is loving big, ambitious and immersive games.
Daniel: With most of my games in boxes, I have not been playing as much recently as I would like. I did, however, get Meadow to the table to try to learn the game for myself, and am enjoying it. Its mechanisms are streamlined, the art is gorgeous, and the theme is engaging. I look forward to playing it with others sometime in the hopefully not-too-distant future.
Spirituality
Kevin: I’ve been thinking about Artificial Intelligence and how much it is going to change things. My hope is that it will give us the space to be more fully human and that religions can intersect powerfully in that space. Connections with God and one another in a physical space will matter more and more when AI is changing so many other things.
Daniel: I’ve been thinking recently about the humility we see in great religious leaders, and the contrast that kind of spiritual posture provides to some popular concepts about leadership. Moses was pretty sure he was the wrong person for the job, Jesus was constantly instructing people not to tell others about him, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of a future he might not see, and Mother Teresa labored most of her life as far away from wealth and prestige as a person could get (I get the impression that such an emphasis on humility is also present in other faiths such as Buddhism and Islam, but I’m not familiar enough with those traditions to offer examples). By contrast, we often celebrate the “cult of personality” today, and lift up leaders who appear to relish in making themselves the center. It makes me wonder how things might be different if our faith communities were able to lift up humility as a celebrated leadership ideal, and what concrete steps might be involved in getting there.
Media We're Digging Right Now
Kevin: I can’t stop watching and thinking about the TV show Succession. It’s terrible people being terrible, but it’s got this whole Shakespearean King Lear thing going on. I keep waiting to see if someone will get a moral compass or not. They hinted that one of the characters might be waking up a bit to his awfulness but it could just be a bit of “fronting” as we used to say.
Daniel: I was happy to see that one of my favorite bands, “Hot Water,” released a new album recently. Hot Water, from South Africa, consistently brings together some of my favorite elements in music: catchy melodies, African beats, acoustic instrumentation, and lyrics exploring what life is all about. If you haven’t listened to them, I encourage you to check out Hot Water (just be aware that there are multiple bands with the same name–the one from South Africa is the one I’m especially into).
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!