PlayLab: Games, Storytelling & Emerging Tech

The library provides access to a growing range of game-related resources, from books on game design and game studies to board games and other playful materials that support teaching, learning, and community-building.

Games in this collection are available for in-library use only, offering opportunities to play, learn, and connect right here in the library.

Strategy & Classics

Timeless games that challenge your focus, planning, and problem-solving.

• Chess
• Go Game – Ancient strategy game from East Asia focused on territory and balance.
• Shogi – Often called “Japanese chess,” featuring unique piece-recycling mechanics.
• Chinese Checkers – A fast, colorful game about hopping pieces across the board.
• Mancala (Wooden) – Traditional African counting and strategy game using stones or beads.
• Patchwork – Build the best quilt using clever tile placement and resource management.
• The Farming Game – Learn business strategy through farming and resource decisions.

Word & Party Games

From clever wordplay to laugh-out-loud moments with friends.

• Scrabble + Scrabble Players Dictionary
• CodeNames Duet – Cooperative word-guessing game that builds communication skills.
• Illiterati – Team up to defeat villains by forming words and saving literacy!
• Incohearent – Guess the hidden phrase behind a jumble of silly sounds.
• Cards Against Humanity – Family Edition
• Cards Against Humanity – Head Trip
• Exploding Kittens
• UNO
• UNO Flip
• Who In The Room – Fun social game revealing who among you “would be most likely to…”
• The Hygge Game – Conversation prompts that spark cozy, thoughtful discussions.

Cooperative & Creative Play

Games that bring players together or spark imagination and design thinking.

• Pandemic – Work as a global team to stop outbreaks before time runs out.
• Drop It – Simple yet strategic game of dropping shapes into a shared grid.
• Priorities – Learn how friends rank values and situations — and see how well you know them.
• Hanafuda (Flower Cards) –  A Japanese card game using 48 flower-themed cards.
• Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poetry Cards) – A Japanese poetry card game where players match verses from 100 classic poems.
• Classic Jenga