Games for Change

 "Death Penalty for Fun," "Darfur is Dying" - these are not the names of scathing, investigative reports on hotly debated global issues, but rather video games.

They're among the dozen or so titles recently shown at the 3rd Annual Games for Change Conference at the New School, organized by a non-profit called Games for Change.

“Social change in games is looking at the pressing issues from our day, from health care issues like HIV to poverty to the environment, and saying how can games, a massive entertainment technology, be brought to bear on these pressing issues?” says Benjamin Stokes of Games for Change.

And since gamers these days are often between five and 45-years-old, organizers are hopeful games are the next great tool to promote understanding.

For the full article, go to the following website:

NY1 News

For more information about Games for Change and other articles about the recent conference, go to:

Games for Change : http://www.gamesforchange.org/

For an example of a game designed to teach social change skills, see:

A Force More Powerful,

a game designed by the International Centre on Non Violent Conflict.

The links page of this game has links for other examples of games, including "Foodforce" from the UN's World Food Programme.