Seminars in the City – Gaming Table: Cultural Field

NAU Cidades invites everyone to the second meeting in the *Seminários na Urbe* (Seminars in the City) series, dedicated to the phenomenon of modern board games and their connections to ethnography, research, and various fields of study.

“Much like a film, a book, or a museum exhibition, a modern board game is a work—a medium of expression—that comes to life through affects and finds its fulfillment in the ‘reading’ performed by its audience. After all, ‘to read’ is a polysemic verb. Yet, the act of playing introduces a crucial distinction: the fundamental role of agency—or, more precisely, the player’s ‘operation.’ Without it, a game ceases to be a game; it might, at best, be a kind of performance.

Mechanics—or mechanisms—are what define a game as such: for something to be a game, it must be playable. This *modus operandi* sets off a chain of effects that allow the story in question to unfold. Unlike reading or watching, a game functions through choices or variable conditions; different alternatives lead each session to a unique outcome.”1

In this session, we will explore games from three distinct perspectives and research trajectories, drawing connections to other forms of expression and various situational fields.

Excerpt from “Next Move: The Emergence of Modern Board Games in the City of São Paulo,” an ongoing research project by Bárbara Côrtes.

The meeting will feature Cynthia Dias (Fiocruz), Carlos Seabra (Writers’ Union), and Bárbara Côrtes (NAU Cidades/PPGAS-USP) in a discussion on the experiences, challenges, and research possibilities within this expanding universe.

The event is free and open to the public. It will be held in person at the LISA-USP Auditorium and broadcast online via the LabNAU-USP YouTube channel.