Kelly Giles: Game Projects

I became interested in game-based library orientation and instruction early in my career. Playing games can be a low-stress, entertaining way to introduce users to information about the library, and can even be an opportunity for them to gain hands-on experience with library spaces, services, and collections.

For practical reasons, my focus has been on developing low-cost, low-tech games. My most successful projects have involved in-person games, but I have also created or adapted a few games that can be played online.

Online Games
In-Person Games

Online Games

Image of digital cards depicting events from campus history.

JMU History Game

An online preview of the card game Find the Time (see In-Person Games below). Try to put 10 cards depicting events from campus history in the correct order. Created with H5P.

Image of worried young woman holding up an alarm clock. Text on the image says Fine the clues. Escape the room. Win the Passport stamp.

JMU Libraries Escape Room, Spring 2021

You just wanted to earn a stamp for your Wellness Passport, but now you're locked in a secret room in Carrier Library! To escape, you must solve puzzles, crack codes, and discover some of the secrets of JMU Libraries. Created with Twine.

I created this game as an online alternative to the in-person Carrier Library escape room (see In-Person Games below). Used as a JMU Wellness Passport virtual event in spring 2021.

Image of Information Literacy Game board.

JMU Information Literacy Game

A Trivial Pursuit-style online board game that can be played by 1-4 people using the same device. I have often used it as a wrap-up activity in instruction sessions.

I adapted this game for use at JMU with new questions and graphics. It was originally developed by Scott Rice and Amy Harris Houk at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. (As of spring 2024, the original game is no longer available.) My review of the original game:

Giles, K. (2013). The Information Literacy Game [Review]. In Internet resources: Gaming and gamification, part II. Public Services Quarterly, 9(4), 307-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2013.842403

Finals Week Adventure

It's finals week, and Rose Library is packed. You need to check out some books, get some coffee, and find a place to study in this text-based game. Created with Inform 7.

The first computer game that I developed myself. Although I am proud of the result, after playtesting I decided not to use this game in instruction. Many students struggled with the text parser and could not complete the game in a single session.

In-Person Games

Image of cards depicting events in campus history.

Find the Time: A Card Game about JMU History

Test your knowledge and learn about JMU history as you compete to arrange event cards in the correct chronological order. Featuring images from JMU Libraries Special Collections and the archives of The Breeze student newspaper and Bluestone yearbook.

This project was inspired by the McGill University Library and Archives card game Moments in Time.

Image of locked box, puzzle pieces, and timer.

Carrier Library Escape Room

An escape room where players must solve a series of puzzles using information about JMU Libraries spaces and services. Developed by Kelly Giles, Bobby Perkins, Bobbi Simonsen, and Brian Sullivan. Malia Willey and Stephanie Akau assisted with research. Liana Bayne sourced and ordered locks and other props.

Used as a JMU Wellness Passport event in fall 2019. Later adapted into the online JMU Libraries Escape Room game. For more information, see our article:

Giles, K., & Sullivan, B. (2023). Putting the puzzle together: Creating a library orientation escape room for university freshmen. Practical Academic Librarianship, 13(1), 3-26. https://pal-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/pal/article/view/7164

Image of a gold question card and two purple answer cards.

Put Up Your Dukes

An Apples to Apples-inspired card game developed by Andrew Evans, Kelly Giles, Jon Reed, and Kristen Shuyler. Players are dealt answer cards and compete to find the best (or funniest!) match for questions about JMU Libraries.

This game was first used as a transfer student orientation activity, and has since gone on to be played at a variety of campus orientation events for both students and faculty.

Game documents (coming soon):

Instructions for playing
List of questions and answers

For more information about the development of this game and tips on creating your own version, see our article and book chapter:

Giles, K., Shuyler, K., Evans, A., & Reed, J. (2019). Creating a library orientation card game to reach new transfer students. Public Services Quarterly, 15(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2018.1488643 Preprint available at https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/letfspubs/163/
Giles, K., Shuyler, K., Evans, A., & Reed, J. (2017). Apple slices: A card-matching party game about the library. In R. Pun & M. Houlihan (Eds.), The First-Year Experience Cookbook (pp. 44-45). Chicago: American Library Association. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/letfspubs/72/

Image of a New York Times article about Nikola Tesla. A message written on it says RefWorks password = p 14, 1st word Dictionary of Energy.

Mystery at the Library

Players search for clues in Rose Library and online to determine which of four suspects stole a rare book and where the thief is headed next. Finding the clues requires players to perform library tasks that can be challenging for new students, such as checking out an item on reserve and locating a book by LC call number.

My first game project, developed as a hands-on orientation activity for first-year engineering students. For more information about the development and use of this game, see my article:

Giles, K. (2015). No budget, no experience, no problem: Creating a library orientation game for freshman engineering majors. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41(2), 170-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.12.005 Preprint available at https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/letfspubs/164/