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Board Game Design Embraces and Enhances Student Creativity

Students in Art and Design designed board games in groups.

Sixth-grade students in Paul Gioacchini and Logan Krause’s Art and Design course at Blue Mountain Middle School recently developed and prototyped board games for Alien Fossil Game Design, a classroom gaming company.

“This project was a fun experience, and it expanded my creativity,” Eli Kaufman said.

During this exciting unit, the students learned about game objectives, components of chance and strategy. They worked in groups to create a concept and pitch a game to the company’s CEO, Mr. Gioacchini. Once the game concepts were approved for production, they met with the CFO, Mrs. Krause, to discuss production options.

“I liked how you could make your own type of game, just the way you wanted to play it,” Leo Sylvester said.

Students utilized the art and design 3D printers and large-format 2D printers as well as traditional materials and supplies to produce their games. The unit culminated in a game day where groups had an opportunity to play and beta test one another’s games.

“It was fun to create the board game and work in groups,” Scarlet Steinthal said.

The board game unit is an introduction to concepts that the students will continue to utilize in future projects through their middle school journey in Art and Design, including coding and digital design.

Students in Art and Design designed board games in groups.