Through games, books, and shared discussion, we’ll experience — not just debate — how trust and control influence our choices and our communities.

Join us at Story House Bookstore, located at 1150 E Walnut St, Springfield, MO 65806, on Thursday, Feb. 26, from 6:30-8:30 pm for The Playful Mind Society. Each evening, we explore core human behaviors by pairing an expert speaker and game mechanics, which are designed to surface these behaviors experientially.

In February’s meeting, we will discuss Trust vs. Control.

Guest Lecturer/Moderator

Your game night moderator is Professor Michael Lane Bruner, an internationally-renowned expert in persuasion and human character (ethos). This month’s theme, Trust vs. Control, is something teachers of persuasion have studied for more than 2,000 years. When does ethical persuasion turn into selfish manipulation? When must one lie to survive, or build trust with one’s enemies? Let’s find out!

Board Game Curation

Village Meeple will bring three games to emphasize the theme of the night. This month’s games include:

Secret Hitler - Up to 10 players, 30 minutes: Secret Hitler is one of our favorite social deduction games. Players are given a hidden role on the team as a Fascist or Liberal. One of the Fascists is also Hitler. Players must work with their teammates (even though they rarely know who they are) to pass enough agendas to win the day! It is so interesting to me how people navigate a simple game that is fraught with lies. It takes in all your history, all of your bias, and makes you trust your gut.

• Uk'otoa - 3 to 5 players, 30-45 minutes: In Uk'otoa, we are sailors on a ship that is being attacked by the monster Uk'otoa. The ship is going down, and no one gets out alive. The goal is to be the last one standing. Uk'otoa is a semi-cooperative game. You have two people on your team, but they also are sharing a team with someone else that's not you, so they aren't completely loyal to you at any point. Semi-cooperative games bring in a different style of play and trust.

• A Fake Artist Goes to NY - 5 to 10 players, 10-20 minutes: In A Fake Artist Goes to New York, one player chooses a word and writes that word on each small marker board and hands it out to the other players. Well... all except one player. That player's marker board just has an X on it, so they don't know the word at all. Players work together to draw a picture of the chosen word, while not making it too easy for the Fake Artist to figure out and blend in. After two rounds, players guess who they think the Fake Artist was.

Games will be available for purchase.

Book Curation

Story House Bookstore will be curating a list of books that go along with the theme. You will be able to continue to learn more about this fascinating topic even after you head home. The books will be available for purchase.

Nonfiction

• Games People Play by Eric Berne

• The Penguin and the Leviathan by Yochai Benkler

• Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality by Patricia S. Churchland

• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

Fiction

• Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

• Trust by Hernan Diaz

• Vicious by V.E. Schwab

• The Will of the Many by James Islington

Register

Space is limited to this event, so make sure to save your spot! Click here to reserve.