Why am I passionate about this?

I first realized the power of games when I won the Geography Bee in my elementary school. I had been playing Carmen Sandiego, which encouraged me to study maps and read almanacs. I started to see how games could motivate interest in all different topics. But I didn’t realize I could make games until I was a graduate student at MIT, and I made an augmented reality game to teach history. Since then I have been designing games to inspire connection, care, and curiosity. I am Associate Professor and Director of Games at Marist College, and I have designed media for organizations like the World Health Organization, Scholastic, and Nickelodeon.


I wrote

We the Gamers: How Games Teach Ethics and Civics

By Kat Schrier,

Book cover of We the Gamers: How Games Teach Ethics and Civics

What is my book about?

The world is in crisis. Can games help us to solve the world’s biggest problems—such as global pandemics, climate change,…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Love and Electronic Affection: A Design Primer

Kat Schrier Why did I love this book?

If we want to heal the world, we first need a little love. Some might not associate games with emotions, care, and love, but they couldn’t be more wrong. I think about all the virtual creatures, critters, characters, and real friends that I have connected with through games. Love and Electronic Affection provides a fantastic overview of love and affection in games like Dragon Age, Life is Strange, and Bioshock.

By Lindsay D. Grace,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love and Electronic Affection as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Love and Electronic Affection: A Design Primer brings together thought leadership in romance and affection games to explain the past, present, and possible future of affection play in games. The authors apply a combination of game analysis and design experience in affection play for both digital and analog games. The research and recommendations are intersectional in nature, considering how love and affection in games is a product of both player and designer age, race, class, gender, and more. The book combines game studies with game design to offer a foundation for incorporating affection into playable experiences.

The text is organized…


Book cover of Play Like a Feminist.

Kat Schrier Why did I love this book?

If we want a better world, we have to be able to enact change. Play Like a Feminist is about feminism, equality, and games. But it’s also really about how we make change, how we rise up, and how we lift others up. Games can help to reveal not only the problems, but how we can protest those problems and make solutions. It shows us that play itself can be a form of protest.

By Shira Chess,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Play Like a Feminist. as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An important new voice provides a riveting look at why video games need feminism and why all of us should make space for more play in our lives.

"You play like a girl": it's meant to be an insult, accusing a player of subpar, un-fun playing. If you're a girl, and you grow up, do you "play like a woman"--whatever that means? In this provocative and enlightening book, Shira Chess urges us to play like feminists. Furthermore, she urges us to play video games like feminists. Playing like a feminist is empowering and disruptive; it exceeds the boundaries of gender…


Book cover of Woke Gaming: Digital Challenges to Oppression and Social Injustice

Kat Schrier Why did I love this book?

Gaming is culture. If we want to redesign our culture, and make it more equitable, we need to look at gaming. Woke Gaming has useful examples of challenges to racial inequality, such as the board game DiscrimiNation or fan responses to games like The Legend of Zelda and World of Warcraft. Systemic change is hard, but necessary, and this book helps us to imagine a better world.

By Kishonna L. Gray (editor), David J. Leonard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Woke Gaming as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From #Gamergate to the 2016 election, to the daily experiences of marginalized perspectives, gaming is entangled with mainstream cultures of systematic exploitation and oppression. Whether visible in the persistent color line that shapes the production, dissemination, and legitimization of dominant stereotypes within the industry itself, or in the dehumanizing representations often found within game spaces, many video games perpetuate injustice and mirror the inequities and violence that permeate society as a whole.

Drawing from groundbreaking research on counter and oppositional gaming and from popular games such as World of Warcraft and Tomb Raider, Woke Gaming examines resistance to problematic spaces…


Book cover of Gaming SEL: Games as Transformational to Social and Emotional Learning

Kat Schrier Why did I love this book?

If we want to inspire the world, we need to start by teaching the next generation. Gaming SEL shows us how games can teach important skills like compassion, care, and perspective-taking. Dr. Farber, the book’s author, and I have collaborated on research in this area, and it is exciting to see the power of games in helping our students learn, grow, and care about each other.

By Matthew Farber,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Gaming SEL as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Games enable children to practice emotions in spaces that are free from actualized consequences. With thoughtful guidance, games can help children manage emotions, perspective-take, demonstrate empathic concern, and exhibit prosocial behaviors.

Emerging research suggests that these competencies-also known as social and emotional learning (SEL) skills-are, in fact, teachable. In Gaming SEL: Games as Transformational to Social and Emotional Learning, Matthew Farber investigates the rich opportunities games have in supporting SEL skill development. Experts from the fields of education, game development, and SEL-including folks from CASEL, the Fred Rogers Center, Greater Good in Education, iThrive Games, Minecraft Education, and UNESCO MGIEP-share…


Book cover of Video Games Save the World

Kat Schrier Why did I love this book?

So games just may help solve the world’s problems. Let’s share the news with everyone, including kids! Video Games Save the World does just that. It uses kid-friendly language, examples, and illustrations of how gaming is helping us make positive change. For instance, it talks about the fantastic organization Games for Change, and all different types of games including indie games and VR games.

By Heather E. Schwartz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Video Games Save the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

To save the world, one must play video games. Sounds ridiculous, right? But in reality many people are looking to video games to tackle many of the world's problems. Take a closer look at the ways in which video games can help save the world.


Explore my book 😀

We the Gamers: How Games Teach Ethics and Civics

By Kat Schrier,

Book cover of We the Gamers: How Games Teach Ethics and Civics

What is my book about?

The world is in crisis. Can games help us to solve the world’s biggest problems—such as global pandemics, climate change, and racial and gender inequality?

Ethics and civics have always mattered, but perhaps they matter now more than ever before. Games are starting to be seen as communities for civic debate and problem-solving. The book, We the Gamers explores how we engage in civics and ethics when we play games. The book shares examples of all different types of games, including Minecraft, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Fortnite, When Rivers Were Trails, Buffalo, Quandary, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. We the Gamers shows us how we might repair and remake our world through gaming. 

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Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

By Lyle Greenfield,

Book cover of Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

Lyle Greenfield Author Of Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by group dynamics, large and small. Why things functioned well, why they didn’t. It’s possible my ability to empathize and use humor as a consensus-builder is the reason I was elected president of a homeowners association, a music production association, and even an agricultural group. Books were not particularly involved in this fascination! But in recent years, experiencing the breakdown of civility and trust in our political and cultural discourse, I’ve taken a more analytical view of the dynamics. These books, in their very different ways, have taught me lessons about life, understanding those with different beliefs, and finding ways to connect and move forward. 

Lyle's book list on restoring your belief in human possibility

What is my book about?

We’ve all experienced the overwhelming level of political and social divisiveness in our country. This invisible “virus” of negativity is, in part, the result of the name-calling and heated rhetoric that has become commonplace among commentators and elected leaders alike. 

My book provides a clear perspective on the historical and modern-day causes of our nation's divisive state. It then proposes easy-to-understand solutions—an action plan for our elected leaders and citizens as well. Rather than a scholarly treatment of a complex topic, the book challenges us to take the obvious steps required of those living in a free democracy. And it…

Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

By Lyle Greenfield,

What is this book about?

Lyle Greenfield's "Uniting the States of America―A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation" is a work of nonfiction and opinion. Incorporating the lessons of history and the ideas and wisdom of many, it is intended as both an educational resource and a call-to-action for citizens concerned about the politically and culturally divided state of our Union. A situation that has raised alarm for the very future of our democracy.

First, the book clearly identifies the causes of what has become a national crisis of belief in and love for our country. How the divisiveness and hostility rampant in our political…


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