International Games Month is an initiative run by volunteers from around the world to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games.
International Games Month is all of November.
Featured Print-and-Play Games
Agents of Adventure: This 1-player adventure card game is set in a fantastical version of 1920s and 1930s earth. Players lead a team of three heroes on a thrilling mission, their every move hindered by an evil mastermind and their dastardly minions.
The Con-Carnival: In this mystery game for 2-8 players, there is a traveling carnival rumored to be a front for con-artists and one has just arrived in your town. Players must find clues while avoiding the suspicion of the Carnys, to determine whether this is the infamous “Con-Carnival”! Free download available if you subscribe to the newsletter.
Deckchairs on the Titanic: In this abstract board game for 2-4 players themed around a metaphor for wasting time, players are chair attendants take turns moving their deck chairs or the iceberg to try to score the most tips while the Titanic rocks side-to-side. Full and low ink downloads available.
The Elusive Pimpernel: Each of the 2-6 players in this social deduction game, based on the novels of Baroness Orczy, gets a secret identity and a different win condition as they try to rescue prisoners from 1793 revolutionary France. Board Game Geek account required.
Escape the Lich King: This game is a cooperative card game of dungeon escape where 3 adventuring players are pursued by a hordes of the Lich King’s monsters as they try to find their lost weapons and potions to escape with their lives. Board Game Geek account required.
In Dreams: This slightly surreal storytelling and journaling game for 1 player provides vivid imagery and evocative prompts to immerse yourself in a dream world you wouldn’t have otherwise imagined.
Merchants of the Crystal Sea: In this 2-player game, opponents must collect resources pressing their luck to evade the natural elements and ultimately return to the ship with the biggest haul. The longer you remain on the island, the greater your reward or your doom! Board Game Geek account required.
My Corner of the Sky: Map this stars in an uncharted piece of sky as a solo astronomer, or with other players, in this roll and write game where the pip layout of your dice matters as much as the value shown. Board Game Geek account required.
Pocket Watch: In this cooperative combat puzzle game for 1-4 players, five locations must be cleared to stop the acolytes from breaking the seals holding back the evil Unhallowed. Pocket Watch is a new micro print-n-play version of Set a Watch. Board Game Geek account required.
Star Charter: Every version of this game is unique as it invites a solitary player to discover long lost worlds in a densely inhabited galaxy through deck development by rolling on tables and using index cards rather than playing with pre-generated cards. Board Game Geek account required.
Undertow: The Beach Game: In this dice roller, each of the 2-4 players compete to get their family and friends swimming safely back to shore first or before the undertow sweeps them away out into the deep ocean! Board Game Geek account required.
The Vampire! A Retro Horror Card Game: A social deduction game for 3-7 players set in a 1950’s small town. Can the locals discover the vampire’s identity and kill it with the wooden stake? Or will the vampire stealthily take out all the locals? A coordinating music playlist is available on the website. Free files provided if you submit an email address.
Winnie the Pooh in the Honey Heist: In this multiplayer roll and write game, play as Winnie and his Hundred Acre Wood friends to try and gather the largest amount of honey from beehives over the course of twelve rounds. Board Game Geek account required.
Zombie Escape: In this dice rolling and placement game, a solitary player finds themselves in an unfamiliar neighborhood overrun by zombies. The player must gather supplies, clear multiple locations, and enter the house to survive the zombie onslaught. Board Game Geek account required.
IGM Online Gaming Resources
Virtual Gaming Resources 2021 PDF
ALA Games and Gaming Round Table Discord Server: Join other GameRT librarians for gaming discussion and play!
Tabletopia: Online board gaming suitable for online Library game nights, with both free and subscription versions.
Board Game Arena: Like Tabletopia, an online browser-based platform for running board games remotely.
Roll20: A powerful online tool for running tabletop RPG adventures, with great support for a wide range of rule sets.
Guide to online board games (pdf): A fairly comprehensive guide to options for online board games by Evan Leed. Also available in an accessible website, converted into HTML by Alina of Cozy Static Games.
Looking for some great TTRPG content created by teachers? Check out LuckOfLegends.com for resources aimed at kids aged 7 – 13.
For a RPG try the StoriesRPG, the base 2-page game and three chapters of Starsworn: a series of print-and-play, zero prep, play-to-learn, coloring book/read-aloud stories that teach people of all ages the basics of tabletop RPGs. Here are direct links to Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 3.. If you are not sure and would like to learn more before downloading this RPG you might be interested in the professional podcast episodes in which actors play through. Each episode gives “in the ear” training on how to play. Between the stories on the podcast and the printed game, it’s very hard NOT to learn! Here’s Episode 1 (The Iron Penance), Episode 2 (The Frog Witch, pt. 1), Episode 3 (The Frog Witch, pt. 2).
If the first few chapters have interested you, the print version of the full Starsworn will be Kickstarted soon.
Professional Development
PDF of Resources from Gaming for Good: How games can support social-emotional learning (SEL): This PDF contains the resources shared by Matthew Farber at the recent webinar Gaming for Good: How games can support social-emotional learning (SEL).
Pairing books and video games for SEL impact: Pairing books and video games for SEL impact was written by Matthew Farber and appeared on Edutopia on June 7, 2022.
Game Jam resources
Recording available from Indiana State Library’s YouTube.
International Games Month is coordinated by:
Games & Gaming Round Table of the American Library Association
CILIP Public & Mobile Libraries Group