The 21st annual Board Game Studies Colloquium, held in Athens, was the first one to be held in Greece. It was hosted by the Benaki Museum and the Italian School of Archaeology at Athens, from Monday 23rd April to Thursday 26th April 2018.
It was organized by Barbara Care’, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Classical Archaeology, in collaboration with Véronique Dasen, professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Fribourg, principal investigator of the ERC Advanced Grant Project “Locus Ludi. The Cultural Fabric of Play and Games in Classical Antiquity”, and Ulrich Schädler Director of the Swiss Museum of Games and partner of the ERC project.
In the 2018 Colloquium, subtitled “Dialogues and Interactions”, a special emphasis was put on the role of games as “vehicles” of cultural transmission and interaction.
Ancient game-related material evidence, the continuity and the reception of antiquity in board games of different ages were explored as well as papers on other aspects of Board Game Studies, in any academic field, as usual.
Program
Monday, April 23, 2018
16:00 Guided visit of the National Archaeological Museum
19:30 Registration and informal reception at Superfly Café
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
The Registration Desk opens at 09:00
09:30 – 12:30 Morning Sessions
Opening
Gaming pieces, toys or votive offerings?, Laetitia Phialon
Why so serious?, Vassiliki Pliatsika
Games and oracular practices around the hearth, Jérémy Lamaze
— — — Coffee Break — — —
Plato Plays Polis, Geoff Bakewell
Boardgames, death and afterworld, Véronique Dasen
Discussion
12:30 – 14:30 Break for Lunch
14:30 – 18:10 Afternoon Sessions
The knucklebone and the goose, Despina Ignatiadou
A new Athenian gaming table, Ulrich Schädler
A Boeotian die in context, Victoria Sabetai
Archaeological evidence for dice, Dimitris Paleothodoros
— — — Coffee Break — — —
Rolling dice for divination, Salvatore Costanza
A playful coroplast?, Maria Chidiroglou
Roman Game Finds from Cremona, Chiara Bianchi
A tabula lusoria, Francesco Muscolino
Board games in ancient fiction, Ioannis Konstantakos
Astragalismos, Barbara Care’
Discussion
20:00 Dinner
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
09:20 – 12:30 Morning Sessions
Plateaux de jeu à cavités, Nouria Akli
Games in the ancient Caucasus, Walter Crist
Bocce, Boules, Pétanque, Francesca Berti
Dice and casting objects, Dan Glimne
Games in Time, Evanthia Saliaka
— — — Coffee Break — — —
Culture of Sedentary Play in India, Amit Deshmukh
Origins and Originality, Jacob Schmidt-Madsen
Discussion
12:30 – 14:30 Break for Lunch
14:30 – 17:50 Afternoon Sessions
Alquerque-12 in expressive arts, Wim van Mourik
Rough Music in Square 63, Eddie Duggan
Sports and Pastimes, David Parlett
Dots and Boxes, Lisa Rougetet
Les femmes au prisme du jeu, Virginie Tacq
The Games published by J. Vlieger, Fred Horn
— — — Coffee Break — — —
Board games and brain functioning, Christian Schmidt
Produto, Tiago Hirth
Cooperative board games, Marina Marin
Discussion
20:00 Dinner
Thursday, April 26, 2018
09:20 – 11:40 Morning Sessions
The Digital Ludeme Project, Cameron Browne
Taxonomy of board games, Roee Anuar
Le matériel des jeux, Jean-Emmanuel Barbier
Defective Connection Games, Cosimo Cardellicchio
Meaningful Choice, David King
Backgammon board transition, Myron Samsin
Checkers and Sorry!, Alex de Voogt
Discussion
12:30 Break for Lunch
Friday, April 27, 2018
12:00 Visit to Benaki Toys Museum
Visit to the Ancient Agora of Athens
