Tag Archives: games

The Console as a Forward Operating Position: Foreign Sovereign Control of Electronic Arts and the National-Security Question in Interactive Entertainment

Posted on June 29, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract The proposed take-private acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA) by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), with Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners holding minority positions, has converted a category of product long dismissed as … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Scientology Speedrun Trend: Institutional Implications of a Crowdsourced Trespass Phenomenon

Posted on April 27, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract In late March 2026, a TikTok-native trend variously labeled “Scientology runs” or “Scientology speedruns” emerged, in which content creators sprint into Church of Scientology facilities (chiefly the Hollywood Boulevard public-facing building in Los Angeles), film as much of the … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Real World as Game Board: Pokémon GO, Location-Based Augmented Reality, and the Institutional Implications of the Game Layer

Posted on April 27, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract Beginning with the launch of Ingress in 2013 and reaching mass-market saturation with Pokémon GO in 2016, a cluster of mobile applications has popularized a particular relationship between digital play and physical geography in which streets, parks, monuments, places … Continue reading →

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White Paper V — Cross-Media Fragmentation: The Adaptations as Generators of Canon

Posted on April 24, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper examines the fifth major vector of fragmentation in A Song of Ice and Fire: the proliferation of television adaptations and licensed products that now generate canon rather than merely reflect it. Where the first four papers traced … Continue reading →

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Pasur and the Capture Tradition: Arithmetic Table Games as Formation for Strategic Thought: A White Paper for the Card-Game Formation Series

Posted on February 7, 2026 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Most Anglophone discussions of strategic card play emphasize trick-taking and bidding games such as Spades, Bridge, and Pinochle. These games foreground contracts, partnership coordination, and suit control. Yet a parallel and considerably older lineage exists across the Mediterranean … Continue reading →

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Formation Through Play: How a Family Card Game Trained an Institutional Mind: A Theoretical Essay on Leisure as Apprenticeship

Posted on February 5, 2026 by nathanalbright

Introduction When the sources of intellectual formation are reconstructed retrospectively, the emphasis typically falls on formal instruction: schooling, books, mentors, or professional environments. Leisure practices are treated as incidental background, culturally pleasant but cognitively neutral. This assumption is almost certainly … Continue reading →

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Hands and Feet (Hand and Foot): A Family-Encoded Canasta Variant in the Rummy–Meld Tradition: A White Paper on Lineage, Structure, and Social Function

Posted on February 5, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract Hands and Feet—more commonly documented in rule collections under the name Hand and Foot—is a North American folk variant within the Canasta branch of the rummy–meld card game family. The game is characterized by two sequential personal stocks (a … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Spades as a Preparatory Game: Why Spades Is an Effective On-Ramp to Contract, Bidding, and Partnership Games

Posted on February 2, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This white paper argues that Spades functions as an unusually effective preparatory game for learning more complex bidding and contract games—particularly Bridge and Pinochle—because it introduces core cognitive, social, and strategic structures in a simplified but authentic form. Unlike … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Silent Synchronization: How Generations Are Formed by Shared Experiences That Do Not Feel Coordinated

Posted on January 11, 2026 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Generations are often described as cohorts shaped by major public events: wars, economic crises, technological revolutions, or cultural turning points. Yet many of the most formative generational experiences are not perceived as coordinated at the time they occur. … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Psychology of Hierarchy and Card Passing in the Game Presidents

Posted on December 8, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The card game Presidents—also known as Asshole, Capitalism, Kings, and other regional variants—contains a rule in which the highest-ranked players receive the best cards from the lowest-ranked players at the start of each new round. This mechanic creates … Continue reading →

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