Book Reviews“it is not enough to diversify productlines” and that “such representations will
not necessarily teach children about theirown experiences of discrimination or systematic inequalities in the world aroundthem” (p. 148). This call to action is oneof the most promising aspects of the book.
Rosner invites the reader to be an active
participant and observer of childhood
artifacts, and everyone from scholars ofplay to toy industry professionals to guardians can benefit from this message.
—Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, The Strong,Rochester, NY

Play like a FeministShira ChessCambridge, MA: 2020.
Acknowledgments, appendix, notes,and index. 184 pp. $26.95, cloth. ISBN:
9780262044387
Playing like a Feminist begins with two
aims: to introduce gamers to feminism
and feminists to games. Chess argues
that considering feminism will allow
gamers to embrace equality and improve
video games. Additionally, encouraging
feminists to rethink the value of play can
unlock the resistant potential of leisureand playful experiences. While the bookis unlikely to connect with gamers unfamiliar with feminism, it is the second aim,addressed to feminists, where the book ismost successful.
Chess begins by describing the complicated relationship between play andgirlhood, where doing things “like a girl”
often means doing things poorly. Chessacknowledges intersectionality involvedin considering what it might mean to “playlike a woman.” It is this question of how
women play, or how might they play, thatsets up Chess’s productive combination ofgame, feminist, and leisure studies.
Chess encourages feminists to playgames and argues for the importanceof leisure in discussions of equality. Shefeels feminists should advocate for equality in play in the same way they advocate
for equality in the workplace, education,and health care. Play is liberating. It is not
frivolous but rather leads to a fulfilled life.
For Chess, this means play is somethingthat should be encouraged and advocated.
Chess illustrates the disparity thatsurrounds play and leisure. Play is privileged. It belongs to those with the time andresources to partake. Leisure for womentends to be structured, productive, andcontained. Chess looks to temporalities
to imagine a more egalitarian and freer
type of leisure. Recognizing the restrictive nature of normative notions of time,
Chess explains how modern technology
allows people small escapes from theirnormative timelines into places of play.
Smartphone users can play mobile gamesin the “between” moments which would
not traditionally involve leisure. These
nonproductive interruptions illustrate thefreeing potential of play.
Feminists should not only advocate
for play, but they should also consider
using play in their activism. Chess explains
how play can be a vehicle for feminist protest. They look to the power of laughter todisrupt. Playing can work to attack institutional structures. In the same way, feminists playing games can challenge toxicgamer culture and a game industry built

213

214

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF

P L AYon glorifying unhealthy working conditions. Chess defends their stance on bringing feminists into game spaces despite thetypical toxicity found in these spaces. For
the industry to change, there needs to be
more diverse gamers, and feminist gamers could have a hand in remaking gamespaces into spaces of equality.
Chess’s book is an accessible look into
the importance of play and the usefulnessof video games. While some of the points
seem obvious and terms may seem overexplained to scholars, the book’s reach andaccessibility makes this approach necessary. The book is not just for game scholars, feminist scholars, and gamers. It is foranyone interested in the topic. This broad
target makes Chess’s book a greater contribution to the field than its arguments
alone. Introducing more people to bothfeminism and play can help to strengthenboth. Playing like a Feminist is an engaging
and informative read that will have readers
looking to go play!
—Steffi Shook, Manhattanville College,Harrison, NYMaking Games for Impact
Kurt SquireCambridge, MA: The MIT Press,
2021. Contents, introduction, coda,
acknowledgments, references, andindex. 252 pp. $30.00, paper. ISBN:
9780262542173
Beginning with the assumption that games
are effective learning tools and that amarket for games designed for nonentertainment purposes exists, Kurt Squire’s

Making Games for Impact pairs a practical account of the author’s experiences
directing the Games + Learning + Society+ Center (GLS) at the University of Wisconsin—Madison with broader discussion of designing games for social impact
in general. In doing so, Squire situatessocial-impact games at the intersection ofbureaucracies, epistemologies, and industries, taking care to describe the uniqueconstraints that learning objectives andresearch agendas create for productions.
The result is a must read for designers andadministrators interested in integrating
commercial game production into institutional research agendas.
Chapter 1 begins by outlining thecommon problems that designers of social
impact games face, such as a lack of whatcommercial designers refer to as “polish”(p. 8). Chapter 2 describes how the Game+ Learning + Society set out to addressthese problems by forming a uniquedesign team (featuring artists, stem-cellresearchers, and students) for the purposes of creating a competitive strategy
game in which viruses combat the humanimmune system (Virulent). Chapter 3
charts the GLS’s venture into the underexamined subgenre of knowledge games,
which are games designed to teach science.
Chapters 4 and 5 examine the institutional
constraints that emerged when the GLS set
its sights on commercial markets. Chapter
6 explores the GLS’s work on games andmindfulness. Chapters 7 and 8 provide an
in-depth look at the day-to-day operationsof the GLS, and chapter 9 concludes withadvice for setting up GLS-inspired development teams in institutional researchsettings.
For those unfamiliar with the field of