NASAGA

If you find yourself having to convince people about the multitude of connections between play and learning, you'd do well to refer them to NASAGA, or the North American Simulation and Games Association, "a growing network of professionals working on the design, implementation, and evaluation of games and simulations to improve learning results in all types of organizations."

And, if you find yourself planning to be in Montreal, Oct. 15-18, you might even consider "Joining the Circus" - the 2003 Annual NASAGA conference. The thing about NASAGA conferences is that they are actually invitations to learn and play, and learn through play, and learn to play more. There are sessions where you can get a genuine taste of some of the most delicious simulations around. A sample smattering of some of the topics: Aha! - Games for Creating Creativity, The (Almost) All Purpose Toy Metaphor Game, Who's Team is it Anyway? High Performance Teams the Improv Way, The Kite: Fast, Fun I.D.!, Checkmate in Zero Steps!, Demystifying Myst: 3D Games & Learning, Life is not rehearsed: Play to learn!