Table top gaming and innovation have a surprisingly similar skill set. The two come together in an upcoming festival finds ALIX NORMAN
Many of the world’s greatest innovators are avid tabletop gamers. Elon Musk plays Dungeons and Dragons. Mark Zuckerberg prefers Settlers of Catan. And Bill Gates is known to be a huge fan of bridge. Stephen Hawking enjoyed both Scrabble and poker. And Neil deGrasse Tyson – who has designed his own board game, StarTalk – likes Risk. You can forget video gaming; if you’re a big thinker who’s changing the world / exploring the universe / launching cars into space, it’s clearly all about the table games!
Problem solving, decision making, big-picture thinking, creativity, strategy, communication, collaboration and even dexterity – innovation and tabletop gaming share the same skill set. So it’s certainly no coincidence that the world’s great innovators are fans.
What is slightly more of a revelation is that Cyprus is both a hotbed of tabletop gaming and a hub of innovation. Within the last decade, the island has seen an escalation in its number of tabletop gaming communities. And, at the same time, it’s experienced an unprecedented boom in innovation.
“Over the last 10 years, Cyprus has seen an explosion in tabletop gaming,” confirms Andreas Panteli, one of the five organisers of the upcoming Cyprus Tabletop Gaming festival. “Many of us were brought up rolling dice, battling dragons, solving mysteries and casting spells practically from birth!”
While these experiences may seem playful at first glance, all are founded on valuable skills: on the ingenuity, imagination and desire to push the boundaries of possibility that make Cyprus a leader in innovation. In the past 10 years, the island has demonstrated by far the biggest innovation improvement of any country in the EU, according to the World Economic Forum’s Innovation Index.
Today, it’s ranked amongst the ‘Strong Innovator’ nations along with Germany, and is head and shoulders above neighbouring nations such as Greece, Italy and Malta thanks in the main to significant increases in process innovations from small and medium-sized enterprises, and collaborations between small, entrepreneurial companies.
In official terms, this means that Cyprus is doing extremely well at building the knowledge-based economy that focuses on research and development, new technologies, and entrepreneurship. But in real life, it translates to a population that’s keen to disrupt the status quo, work collaboratively, and forge new enterprises. Perhaps it’s no coincidence then, that both the island’s innovation index and the popularity of tabletop gaming have surged at the same time?
“Tabletop gaming has always been about innovating, about working collaboratively to find solutions – sometimes to seemingly impossible problems,” says Panteli. “And I think these skills are not only fun to develop, they’re also immensely valuable in life.”
Along with Constantinos Karaolis, Frixos Masouras, Andonis Mechanikos, and Crystal Michael, Panteli is one of the team behind the island’s very first Tabletop Gaming festival. It’s an event that bodes well for Cyprus’ status as a Strong Innovator…
Taking place on April 9 at the European University, the festival is jointly hosted by two organisations who are both passionate about pushing the boundaries of possibility and fostering potential: Imagination Gaming Cyprus and the Table Fables.
The first is a team of board game developers who promote learning and skill-building educational programmes through tabletop games. Working with the Youth Board of Cyprus, a number of local schools, and various companies, they aim to cultivate a culture of innovation on the island, building critical thinking, creativity, cooperation and socialisation with play.
The second is a non-profit community that holds frequent, free events that are open to all – be you an experienced player or a total beginner. Focusing on narrative adventures, the Table Fables lean towards games from the cooperative or role-playing genres, genres that are well-known to encourage imagination and collaboration.
Together, the two hosts will be offering a festival that’s sure to attract the islands’ most imaginative, creative, and innovative.
“It’s an event that hopes to unify many communities, including those who love board games and role-playing games, local game shops, game designers and tabletop enthusiasts,” says Karaolis. “We’ll have local game designers showcasing their own games, giving players the opportunity both to play published games and also test unreleased games, getting an exclusive first peek. We’ll have local board game companies and shops setting up booths and selling tabletop games and related merchandise.
“Imagination Gaming Cyprus will be providing lots of new-generation board games across all categories, including strategy, party games, fantasy, expression, memory, mystery and dexterity etc. Table Fables will host multiple D&D sessions in the form of one-shots, as well as a host of Trading Card Games, including Magic: The Gathering, Yu Gi Oh, and Pokémon.
“There will also be Warhammer: Warcry battles going on throughout, as well as any number of other games – too many to list, in fact! And it’s certainly not mandatory for our attendees to play any game. People can drop in to walk around and watch ongoing games, browse shops, socialise, have a coffee or whatever else makes them feel comfortable. We’ll have something for all ages, and both Greek and English speakers will be fully included when joining any of our game sessions.”
A hub of inclusivity, imagination and innovation, the CTG Fest will be, hope organisers, the first of many such events. And certainly a proving ground for the innovators of the future.
“We believe that the CTG festival will provide a platform for people to come together, socialise, and collaborate,” says Karaolis. “We’re also giving people the chance to meet with local game innovators, which will both provide valuable feedback and perhaps inspire attendees to create their own, novel games.
“And, most importantly, we hope to reinforce a sense of community. Not one of the world’s top innovators got to where they are today without a dedicated team to support their dreams. Who knows, maybe the next Bill Gates is a 12-year-old D&D enthusiast in Cyprus!”
For more details of the event, visit the Facebook page ‘Cyprus Tabletop Gaming 2023’
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Mail
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