Hey Reader!

David Kessler here.

When most people think of games, they usually think of a fun diversion. But games can do a lot more than we often give them credit for. When you find a game that offers a dose of education in addition to fun, well then, that’s the cherry on top, the icing on the cake, the feather in your cap, the cream in your cup, or…the earthworm in your soil (you heard it here first).

​Loam is live on Gamefound​

Max Helmberger, Tim Lampasona, and Jane Chartreuse of the Cardboard Revolution cooperative have launched a game that hits the sweet spot of good ol' fun with a healthy dollop of science to go with it. Plus, the clay creature art is just the cutest.

Loam is a set-collection strategy game about building healthy soils. You are a plant, who for obvious reasons is into that sort of thing. You also have a lot more power and agency over your environment than humans often give you credit for: use input cards to sculpt the soil’s weird and wonderful biodiversity, unlock special powers, and create the healthiest soil to win!.

This game was designed in no small part with help from the Protospiel community. Playing at official events and chatting in the discord about Loam helped it reach its current completed state.

Max and Tim are both biology professors with Ph. D.'s in Entomology. Max is even teaching a course at Boston University in the fall called "Tabletop Game Design for Biology Education." It's got me thinking about going back to college.

Back Loam on Gamefound!

OK, fine, here's one more glimpse of the adorable clay critters in Loam. If you want to see more, you'll have to find them yourself!

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for more awesome events, community opportunities, and updates about games tested at Protospiel!

~David

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P.S. If you have something you'd like to see featured in our Community Newsletter, you have 3 options -- either submit an official feature request, reply to this message, or post in the #🙌share-your-wins channel in the Protospiel Online Discord server to let us know the details. We'd love to celebrate you!

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