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Once I tried to play Prince of Persia, but I couldn't stop the Prince from leaping off the palace wall to his doom whenever he saw his enemies. I tried to play Warlock, but I didn't move quickly enough and was clubbed to my death by gladiators. (I can still see my blood spatter in the snow.) On SecondLife I was cornered in a gazebo by a stalker and had to Ctrl-Q to escape. (He followed me into email!)

I think it's safe to say that I suck at games.

But in the first general session of PCMA's Convening Leaders, I saw a inspiring presentation by Jane McGonigal, who joined the conference remotely from San Francisco. The author of Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, McGonigal is a top game developer and strategist. After outlining the main passions that games elicit (none of which were "creeped out by bludgeoning death"), she went on to describe a game that was a team-oriented game developed for the New York Public Library.

The result: 500 wrote a book in one night, which was printed and bound and resides in the Rare Book room of the Central Branch. It's a great story about team effort, support and most importantly in gamesmanship, WINNING.

I'm now so excited by the possibilities that I'm going to buy her book. And those gladiators better not get in my way.

What has been your experience with gaming?