Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in English

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

English

Advisor/Mentor

Pritchard, Eric

Committee Member

Donohue, Jenna

Second Committee Member

Szwydky, Lisette

Third Committee Member

Mixdorf, Cory

Abstract

With the rise in popularity of hobby board gaming in the last 25 years, their usefulness to studying adult engagement in literacy has emerged as a new avenue of exploration. Although there has been a large amount of research into how board games can be designed and played with learning in mind, the study of recreational board games in the context of literacy and community is lacking. This thesis explored the means through which board games played in recreational settings act as tools of literacy. Through direct gameplay of 36 games across 6 months, qualitative data was gathered in pursuit of answering four identified research questions. Play occurred in three primary settings: a community game group, and two groups of personal acquaintances. This project identified the physicality of games, the host, the players, and repetition of play as the primary means through which board games act as literacy building tools. Reported through an evocative autoethnographic lens, this project ultimately demonstrated that hobby board gaming sessions foster the use of literacy practices between players even when the construction of those practices is not the primary intention of the gaming session. The identification and exploration of the four elements revealed that board games do not need modification or explicit classroom use to become tools of literacy. These results, in turn, indicate that board games can be designed with the intent of fostering specific elements of literacy and can open the door to further exploration using board games as a means of engaging literacy in persons who may not seek out traditional modes of engagement.

Keywords

Game studies; Board games; Literacy studies; Autoethnography

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