On Friday, March 29 at 4PM, join Chandler Jennings, Spring 2024 Artist-in-Residence, for a community game play session. In this session, participants will play “Bloc by Bloc: Uprising” (more information below). Space is limited to four players and play time is estimated to be 2-3 hours. Snacks, seltzer, and coffee will be available at this free event. RSVP here to save your spot.
Want to play but can’t make it on Saturday? Chandler is hosting two other game play sessions. Join in on Saturday, 3/23 at 9AM or on Wednesday 3/27 at 7:30PM.
About the game:
Game: In “Bloc by Bloc”, players play insurrectionist factions seeking to liberate a city from authoritarian police control. Each turn, players move their factions around the city map, disrupt police movement with barricades, clash with the cops, mark their presence with graffiti, and liberate goods to be used by the uprising. The game is semi-cooperative. Factions mostly work together against the police, but a faction can also be overtaken by vanguardist or sectarian elements that means they need to start working against other factions in order to win alone.
Estimated play time: 2-3 hours
Player count: 4
Complexity: medium
Content warning: This game deals with police violence and anti-authoritarian insurrection movements
About Chandler: Chandler Jennings is an analog games maker, writer, and academic. During his 2024 Spring Research Residency, Chandler is refining "Justice". Part storytelling game and part interactive installation, "Justice" asks participants to theorize, build, and test a system of justice in an imaginary society (with implications for our own).
Chandler’s games try to challenge participants to explore the limits of their political imagination and consider serious issues from unexpected angles. He is particularly interested in how storytelling and imagination can translate into political agency and how these can move beyond the game-space to work towards justice in the real world. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Chandler received his BA from Pomona College in 2014 and his MA from the University of Virginia in 2023 (both in English). He is very happy to be living in Charlottesville with his wife, Michelle, and their dog, Joni.
The 2023-2024 Research Residency is made possible with support from the Anne and Gene Worrell Foundation.