Unsurprisingly, autumn and spring are always the busiest training seasons, and this time is no different. It’s strange to think that by January I’ll probably miss all these trainings — professionally, personally, and even financially — since right now I’m heading into quite an intense stretch.

Last week, I held a training session in the very town where I spent six years as a university student. It always feels good to return, and this visit was no exception. The city’s teacher trainees, educators, and NGO professionals gathered on a Saturday for an eight-hour in-person session, followed by our 30-hour accredited e-learning course.

The board game pedagogy training focused on simple games using minimal equipment (such as Nim and Pig), then we explored the world of abstract two-player games (International Draughts, Kalah), and from there moved on to modern two-player board games like Hanamikoji and Jaipur.

We also spent time with dice games (Bas, Perudo, Abszolút megvadult betűk) and card games, with the latter emphasizing memory development (Foxy, Kiwi, Trio). And yes, we even made time for some party games — including Cockroach Salad, Blue Banana, and Happy Salmon.

We also brought out some print-and-play games — at one point, as many as 18 people were playing YesNo simultaneously!

We also explored the pedagogy of giving instructions, learned how to explain game rules effectively, and analyzed a wide range of board games from the perspective of their developmental and educational benefits.

Now I’m preparing for a two-part training series, each consisting of five sessions, where I’ll be teaching museum professionals the art of game design — with a special focus on educational board games. This is quite a new direction for me, so I’m feeling both motivated and excited. And of course, I’ll be sharing updates about it all right here.