About the show
Daniel and Kevin explore the meaning of play for human flourishing – what it is, what it means, and how people create and maintain playful lives. We explore books, people, places, and ideas committed to engendering play in the midst of busy, working lives.
Play Saves the World on social media
Episodes
-
Episode 23: Board Games as Devotion, with Daniel Thurot
February 5th, 2023 | 1 hr 2 mins
devotion, game theory, mormonism, representation
Daniel Thurot of Space-Biff! discusses board games as devotion and religious exploration, Mormonism, and religious identity.
-
Episode 22: The Medieval Book of Games
January 22nd, 2023 | 55 mins 41 secs
christianity, history, islam
We examine the medieval Book of Games, King Alfonso of Spain's 1283 book about chess, dice games, and board games like Backgammon. There are rich insights here into medieval and modern board games.
-
Episode 21: How To Start a Board Game Group at Your House of Worship
January 8th, 2023 | 56 mins 49 secs
gaming group, house of worship
How to start a board game group at your church, temple, mosque, or house of worship? Daniel and Kevin share their experiences and ideas on the how and why of board game groups at places of worship.
-
Episode 20: A Muslim Perspective on Representation in Gaming, and on Jesus Christ
January 1st, 2023 | 1 hr 15 mins
islam, representation
Our second discussion with Ali Karar, a Muslim living and board gaming in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ali shares his view on representation in board gaming and how to make it better, along with how Muslims view Jesus Christ.
-
Episode 19: Enemies of Board Gaming (A/V Club)
December 11th, 2022 | 1 hr 11 mins
a/v club, gaming
A list of a list! We discuss the YouTube Dice Tower video, "Top 10 Enemies of Gaming" (link below), and draw a top 5 perils list around hobby board gaming.
-
Episode 18: Reality Is Broken! So let's play games that promote positive psychology and collaboration
November 13th, 2022 | 1 hr 7 mins
book club
We dive into Kate McGonigal's book Reality Is Broken, chapters 10 and 13, where she discusses how games can promote positive psychological research (human happiness and flourishing) and collaboration.
-
Episode 17: Interview with Adrian Adamescu
October 30th, 2022 | 1 hr 6 mins
board game theory, christian, church, creation, designer
We interview Adrian Adamescu (designer of Sagrada, Dice Theme Park, Creatures & Cupcakes) about his life of board game design and faith – how growing up in Romania, Germany, and now living in Canada, along with his faith experiences along the way, have impacted his thoughts on life, religion, and game design.
-
Episode 16: 5 Spiritual Lessons from Action Selection Games
October 16th, 2022 | 1 hr 7 mins
action selection, game theory, spiritual lessons
What are Action Selection games, and what can we learn from them about our spirituality?
-
Episode 15: How Reality Is Broken and We Need More Games
October 2nd, 2022 | 1 hr 9 mins
book club, game break, game theory, happiness, neuropsychology
What does Jane McGonigal's Reality Is Broken say about games and human happiness? Defining a game and its sense of flow is key to understanding what creates human happiness.
-
Episode 14: Judaism and Board Games, with Alex Radcliffe
September 18th, 2022 | 46 mins 49 secs
judaism, sabbath, world religions
Alex Radcliffe of BoardGameCo and GameFound helps us understand how board games and Sabbath practices function within Orthodox Judaism.
-
Episode 13: How Board Games Can Be Transcendent
September 4th, 2022 | 1 hr 1 min
Can board games be transcendent, what are magic circles, and how does this get at religion and the spiritual life?
-
Bonus: Thank You for 1,000 Downloads!
August 24th, 2022 | 48 secs
A brief thank you to our awesome listeners for this milestone of 1,000 downloads.