Come Out and Play in NYC

by Scott Jon Siegel { Sep 20th 2006 at 6:55PM }

The first ever Come Out and Play Festival starts this Friday, and anyone in New York City might want to consider stopping by and checking it out. Over 20 street games will be playable, several created by high-profile game designers.

Featured games include Cruel 2 B Kind, an assassin-style game using random acts of kindness, designed by 42 Entertainment's Jane McGonigal and Persuasive Games' Ian Bogost.

Also featured are three games by large-scale game designers area/code: Plundr is a laptop-based game of piracy, black-market trading and battle; Identity challenges teams of players to reveal their opponents' allegiances without revealing their own; Crossroads, pictured right, is a GPS-powered game of territories, played in the West Village against a human opponent and an invisible spirit known only as the Baron Samedi.

Organizers of Come Out and Play include several key members of Gamelab, who have also contributed games to the event. All in all, the festival is shaping up to be a fun time, attracting city-lovers and gamers alike.

If you're interested in playing check out the site for information on how to sign up, as some of the games have a cap on the number of players. I'll be there on Saturday, posting some coverage of the games, so check back over the weekend for more information as the festivities get under way.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Comtar @ Sep 20th 2006 7:59PM

People play outside?

But aren't there like... bears outside?

LilBlackDemon00 @ Sep 20th 2006 8:41PM

@Comtar: Not in NYC.

I've got to say, this sounds AWESOME. A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

I live right across the Hudson River from the city, and I'll be going in Saturday for an 8-bit concert anyway. This sounds like a good way to start things off.

Hit up my email if you want more info about 8bit.

Ever see a guy rock out with a GameBoy? The original gray brick GameBoy? That's 8bit.

(Edit: Go here: http://ascagnel.freeflux.net/) -sj

Jonn @ Sep 20th 2006 11:12PM

Identity sounds awesome. To bad it requires social (engineering) skills.

32_footsteps @ Sep 20th 2006 11:52PM

Well, can't quite make it out there, which is a shame.

I mean, 42 Entertainment? The company behind The Beast, The Haunted Apiary, and Last Call Poker? If anyone ever wanted to get their feet wet in an ARG, this event looks like a great rabbit hole.

Zell @ Sep 21st 2006 12:36AM

Nice! Think I'll sign up for Sleuth. Journey to the End of the Night sounds fun too! This is so cool!

Oren Ross @ Sep 21st 2006 2:08AM

Its going to be amazing!!! I will be showing one of my games. You can even play it if you are not in New York. Just send a text message to coap@snagu.com with "join youremailaddress". A lot of my friends are showing some really great games. I cant even start to name all of them, but I will say that I cant wait to play all of them.

rabbit @ Sep 21st 2006 2:15AM

I highly recommend Journey to the End of the Night if it's anything like it was in SF this summer. An incredibly fun event and a great way to start playing SFZero

Alex @ Sep 21st 2006 8:02AM

My friend told me about this a few days ago, he and I are playing Insider, and Plunder, and if we are really into it we may try another. I recommend anyone in the city this weekend try them out. Also, if anyone is around, we are looking for people (18+) to join our small LAN party Friday night/Saturday, after insider wraps. If you are interested email absolutcl >at< gmail >dot< com.