Analog Game Studies & Play Story Press are excited to release the three most recent volumes of Analog Game Studies. Analog Game Studies: Volume 10 Analog Game Studies: Volume 11 Analog Game Studies: Volume 12
Analog Game Studies: Volumes 10-12
Play Story Book Talk – The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Bluey
In this Book Talk, Kelli Dunlap chats about her book, The Psychgeist of Pop Culture - Bluey. https://playstorypress.org/books/the-psychgeist-of-pop-culture-bluey/ Bluey is an award-winning animated children’s series centering on the titular Bluey: a curious, inexhaustible 7-year old (in human years) anthropomorphized Blue Heeler puppy, and her family – little sister Bingo, mom Chili, and dad Bandit. Although each episode is brief, they’re full of love, heart, and valuable life lessons for both kids and adults. The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Bluey features both academic and memoir chapters which highlight the parent-child duality of Bluey viewership as well as the show’s playful way...
Call for Proposals! The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Cyberpunk 2077
The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Cyberpunk 2077, edited by Amelia Herbst. Cyberpunk 2077 welcomes gamers to Night City, the dystopian metropolis on the fringes of the New USA. CD Projekt Red’s ode to the cyberpunk genre came on to the market and captivated audiences, especially after the release of their hit DLC, Phantom Liberty. Night City is a place where all of your dreams can be true or, at the very least, are marginally possible with the right amount of chrome and eddies. Players get to navigate the world as V and make the decisions that influence how they choose...
Well Played Journal CfP: Games, Value, and Meaning
This is an open call for essays that explore the playing experience of games—digital, tabletop, mixed reality, larp, playable theatre, interactive narratives, etc. All submissions for this issue of the Well Played Journal are due on 30 September, 2026. All submissions and questions should be sent to: The Well Played Journal is a forum for in-depth close readings of games that parse out the various meanings to be found in the experience of playing a game. It is a reviewed journal open to submissions that will be released on a regular basis with high-quality essays. Contributors are encouraged to look...
Play and The Heart’s Refusal to Harden
Play Story Press is excited to release Play and The Heart’s Refusal to Harden, by Lisa Kosena Forbes. Play and the Heart’s Refusal to Harden challenges the belief that play is something we outgrow. Drawing from psychology, play therapy, education, social critique, and personal experience, Lisa Kosena Forbes explores how cultures recruit us into seriousness, productivity, and disconnection—and how play helps us resist. This is not a book about becoming more playful for the sake of having fun. It is a book about remaining alive in a world that often asks us to harden. Through stories, humor, research, and reflection, Forbes...
Play Story Book(s) Talk – Professors at Play
In this Book(s) Talk, David Thomas talks about Professors at Play and the three books that Lisa Forbes and he edited, as well as their Playposium events. https://playstorypress.org/all-professors-at-play/ Professors at Play is a global community of like-minded educators interested in transforming higher education through the power of play. Grounded in the concept of playful pedagogy, the community looks to increase student outcomes, faculty engagement and overall joy inside the academy. https://youtu.be/BYRmeabQQ5Y
Call for Proposals! The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Animal Crossing
The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Animal Crossing, edited by George Farmer and Bethany Thomas. Animal Crossing is a widely beloved video game franchise published by Nintendo. Known for its relaxed atmosphere and at-your-own-pace core gameplay loop, each game centres on your human character moving to a small town, village, or remote island. While there is no fixed ‘goal’ of the game beyond paying off a house-building loan given to the player by Tom Nook, the resident entrepreneur (or capitalist overlord), the player is encouraged to complete tasks to make the best use of their time as a new resident and...
The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Black Mirror
Play Story Press is excited to release The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Black Mirror, edited by Sarah Hays. The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Black Mirror explores the psychological themes at the heart of the Black Mirror television and streaming series. Authors from media, culture, and fandom studies explore how the advancement of technology has far-reaching impacts on us, for better and for worse. This includes broad considerations of the series and more focused discussions of particular episodes. The Psychgeist of Pop Culture: Black Mirror
Well Played V15 N1: Well Read Games
Well Played and Play Story Press have released Well Played V15 N1: Well Played Games. Well Played V15 N1: Well Read Games
Play Story Fest @ Remake Learning Days
Play Story Fest @ Remake Learning Days A pilot of a ½ day salon of facilitated conversations around play, culture and community. The pilot of Play Story Fest took place the Afternoon of May,11 at the MuseumLab at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh during the 2026 Remake Learning Days. The Fest was a ½ day starting around 12:30pm and going until 5:00pm. From around 1-4:30, there were three conversation topics that were discussed. There were breaks for open reflection, and throughout the Fest had a hands-on activity creating art together. Each topic had a facilitator to guide the conversation. One...