Dead Draw*

Abstract

The course aims at studying the correlation between board games (limited to a fixed geometric area but unlimited in their permutations) and the architectural grid (this 'architecture without a substance' yet more durable than any built work).

Objective

Coupling theoretical readings (from fields ranging from mathematics, game theory, philosophy or literature) with empirical (playful) analysis of archetypal strategy board games – the course does not promise practical skills, rather stresses the relevance of critical thinking, the articulation of a discourse in writing and the creation of productive analogies.

Content

For the Situationists, hedonistic play was the radical antithesis of alienated labour. Within the 'magic circle' of the game, intimacy and imagination could triumph over isolation and conformity. The collective celebrated the play as the epitome of non-utliitarian activity. Both suppressing the political and the spectacular, and resurrecting performative creativity and self-realisation, the Situationist game is the means and the end of total revolution. Considering history as a deadly game in which strategy is crucial, Alice Becker-Ho and Guy Debord developed A Game of War derived from chess and explicitly mirroring socio-political and spatial dynamics. The course will study the territory and object of this Kriegsspiel and further archetypal games in order to draw mathematical, psychological and strategical teachings, that may be transposed into the frictional space of the city. [*a drawn position in which neither player has any realistic chance to win (Webb, 2006)]

Resources