The 2nd annual Come Out & Play Festival in San Francisco is being organized by over 15 local volunteer street game designers and players and runs from October 29 through November 6, 2011.

Games will be played across Downtown San Francisco all week. During the weekend of Nov 5-6, the games come to the Mission District. Weekend HQ: The Go Game; 400 Treat Ave.; San Francisco, CA 94110.

Be sure to follow our twitter feed for last minute updates on rain, locations, etc.

For full details on Come Out & Play San Francisco visit www.comeoutandplaysf.org.

You can also get more information by calling (415) 745-1919.

Come Out & Play SF 2011 Schedule:

Every year, we announce a set of awards for games that were exceptional in some way. We have jurors play each of the games at the festival and then gather them to discuss their experiences. It’s always a very hard decision, but this year our jurors felt there were some strong standouts.

Here are the award winning games for Come Out & Play 2011 Field Day:

Best Family Game: Beat the Heat by Adam Nelson (Obscure Games)

This was the game our player jurors felt offered the best chance for kids and adults to play together. About Beat the Heat.

Deepest Gameplay: Killer Queen by Joshua DeBonis and Nikita Mikros

This is the game our jurors felt had the most possibility for complex strategy and multiple styles of play. Read more about Killer Queen.

Best New Sport: Hunter-Gatherer by Charles Amis

This game exemplified a combination of replayability, strategic play and the physical skills. Read more about Hunter-Gatherer.

Best in Fest: Killer Queen by Joshua DeBonis and Nikita Mikros

Our jurors felt this game was the most representative game of the year’s festival, its themes and location on top of being a really fun, kickass game.

Congratulations to all of these designers, and to all the great games that made Come Out & Play possible this year!

Come Out & Play wants to send out a huge thanks to everyone who made the Come Out & Play Summer Series happen. This year represented a big change for us in how we bring games to players. We had everything from civic-minded games to old-fashioned water fights spread out over a whole month. It was all good fun.

First off we need to thank all of the designers who came and ran games. You guys provide the content that makes the festival fun. This year may have been the best crop of games we’ve seen yet. Thanks to:

Adam Nelson
Allen Hahn
Amy Rogers
Atmosphere Industries
Becky Kazansky
Brent Elmer
C4M & Mekensleep
Catherine Herdlick
Charles Amis
Charley Miller
David Fino
ESI Design
Gordon Dahlquist
Jamie Lin
Josh DeBonis
Lia Bulaong
Matt Parker
Mattia Romeo
Mehan Hoke
Nick Fortugno
Nien Lam
Nik Mikros
Nolgong
Play Rites Collective
Simon Evans
Simon Johnson
Slingshot Effect
Suzanne Kirkpatrick
Timorty Sweetser

Big thanks to all of the volunteers who staffed the series. You guys provide the spark that helps bring the games to life:

Alex Barrett
Andrew Lohmann
Bryant Salinas
Daniel Nagler
David Polinchock
Emmanuel Go
Ian Kwok
Ivan Pandoy
Joanie Kwok
Patrick Joa
Sydney Anne Marie Polinchock

Thanks to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for all their help in arranging permits and space for this year’s games. Massive props Andy Horowitz and Dorit Avganim for patiently listening and understanding all of the crazy events we wanted to run and then helping us make them happen.

Thanks to Games for Change for working with us on the Games for Change Real-World Challenge and funding the development of the winner. This partnership certainly produced an interesting, new approach to changing the world through games. Particular thanks to Asi Burak, Michelle Byrd, Ida Benedetto and Jeff Ramos.

See you all next year!

In the meantime, join us each month at Eyebeam for our monthly playtest series.

This summer Come Out & Play is running a series of games in partnership with the River to River Festival. Instead of packing your yearly dose of street games into one weekend, we’ll be spreading the fun out over the whole summer. As always, all events are free and open to all.

We’ll be presenting a new game every weekend from June 19 to July 9. Join us each Saturday (and one Sunday) for a brand new street game experience. To guarantee a spot to play, get there early.

Then join on us Governors Island on July 16 from 11 AM to 5 PM for The Come Out & Play Field Day. The Field Day will feature 15 different games spread out across Governors Island. We’ll be posting the full list of games for the Field Day soon.

In the meantime, here’s the Come Out & Play Summer Series schedule:

2011 Summer Series

Commons Vote it up! 19 Jun 2011 - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Foley Square Commons is a game for urban communities to improve their city through citizen stewardship. Vote it up! In Commons, compete to do good, while problems in your city get fixed. Report a problem or recommend an improvement in your neighborhood that you think deserves attention and resources, and show your city some lovin’. Vote on the best reports and improvements, and see what’s most popular in the hood. Go on short missions around town to earn bonus points, and unlock City awards to level up through the game. With Commons, share the things that you care most about fixing and improving in your neighborhood, and discover new ways to explore your city. . . more info

2011 Summer Series

Cowgirl Cowhunt: Session 1 A strategic hide-and-seek Western set in 1919 25 Jun 2011 - 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM Titanic Memorial Park meet in the plaza near Whitehall/Water Cowgirl Cowhunt is a 90-minute strategic hide-and-seek variant set in 1919 that casts players as historically important cowgirls, rustlers or cattle, each competing head-to-head to be Queen of the Range. Cowgirl Cowhunt equally rewards brains and stealth. Relationships shift between friend and foe, deals are made (and sometimes regretted) and the environment takes its toll on the herd. Western attire recommended but not required. Simple costume accessories provided. . . more info

2011 Summer Series

Cowgirl Cowhunt: Session 2 A strategic hide-and-seek Western set in 1919 25 Jun 2011 - 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM Titanic Memorial Park meet in the plaza near Whitehall/Water Cowgirl Cowhunt is a 90-minute strategic hide-and-seek variant set in 1919 that casts players as historically important cowgirls, rustlers or cattle, each competing head-to-head to be Queen of the Range. Cowgirl Cowhunt equally rewards brains and stealth. Relationships shift between friend and foe, deals are made (and sometimes regretted) and the environment takes its toll on the herd. Western attire recommended but not required. Simple costume accessories provided. . . more info

2011 Summer Series

Shadowplay Cast yourself into the game 2 Jul 2011 - 8:00 PM to 11:30 PM John Street Church Cast yourself into the game with Shadowplay, a large-scale street game projected directly onto the walls of New York City. Players jump, dash, stretch and contort their shadows in a bid to score points by eclipsing objects floating through the game. Play alone or collaboratively. . . more info

2011 Summer Series

HOUNDED A chase game of scent and cunning. 9 Jul 2011 - 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM Elevated Acre A chase game of scent and cunning. The smell of the city tells a story. Follow your nose across town to uncover this invisible trail. But as you move through the streets you leave a scent trail and the hounds are closing in. Can you make it to the end of the tale before your tail catches you? . . more info

2011 Summer Series

Shadowplay Cast yourself into the game 9 Jul 2011 - 10:00 PM to 12:00 AM John Street Church Cast yourself into the game with Shadowplay, a large-scale street game projected directly onto the walls of New York City. Players jump, dash, stretch and contort their shadows in a bid to score points by eclipsing objects floating through the game. Play alone or collaboratively. . . more info

2011 Summer Series

Come Out & Play Field Day Come out & play! 16 Jul 2011 - 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM Governors Island - Meet at COaP HQ on the Parade Grounds A day of new and exciting outdoor games, from wild new field sports to large social games. Each year Come Out & Play features the best in experimental new real-world games. This year we bring the fun to Governors Island. . . more info

This year Come Out & Play will be holding a Field Day of exciting new outdoor games on Governors Island in New York City on July 16. The Field Day is being run in partnership with the River to River Festival.

Located in New York harbor, a half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan, Governors Island boasts fields, bike paths, forts and complexes of old houses and barracks.

For the Field Day we will be looking for roughly 10-12 games outdoor games that can be played on Governors Island on July 16. Games can range from quick play social games to new sports to large-scale events. We will be grouping games together so players will be able to check out different games and try out as many different games as possible. Shorter and smaller games will be expected to run multiple times throughout the day to accommodate walk-up players.

All submissions are due by May 27.

We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis as they come in and letting designers know about acceptance as soon as possible.

As always we’re looking for new games that make interesting use of space and bring the fun outdoors.

The constraints:

• Playable in public on Governors Island
• Must be able to run Saturday, July 16

About Come Out & Play

Come Out & Play provides a forum for new types of street, mobile and location-based games.  We bring together players eager to explore the world around them, with designers interested in producing innovative new games and experiences.  Oh yeah, and we have city-sized fun.

About River to River Festival

The River To River Festival takes place each summer in a variety of public venues that canvas all of Downtown New York – from Chambers Street down to the southern tip of Manhattan and across the island from river to river. A world-class performing arts festival with a broad sweep of programming and free admission, River to River aims to enhance the vitality of cultural life in Lower Manhattan, to support its economic and social health, and to generate new audiences for the arts of our city. By removing barriers to the experience of live arts by free admission and by presentation at popular, mostly outdoor, public venues, we aspire to attract diverse audiences. For more info on the festival see www.rivertorivernyc.com.

Any questions, please email info (at) comeoutandplay (dot) org.

We are excited to announce Come Out & Play 2011. This year Come Out & Play is partnering with the River to River Festival to bring a series of weekly games to lower Manhattan in June and July and a one day festival of games to Governor’s Island in mid-July.

For four weeks Come Out & Play will present a series of original games at the River to River Festival in lower Manhattan. Each week a we’ll run a new game at a different location from a live-action arcade game in an arch under the Brooklyn Bridge to a stampede and round-up in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

We’ll be posting the full details on the game series, including locations and dates in the next several weeks. The schedule for the Governor’s Island festival will be announced in mid-May.

The first game in the series on June 19 will be the winning game from the Real-world Games for Change Challenge. Come Out & Play is collaborating with Games for Change to commission an outdoor game that actually leaves a positive impact on the space where the game is played. We are currently accepting submissions for games here: Real-world Games for Change Challenge Submission. The designers of the winning submission will receive $5,000 to produce and run their game on June 19. Submit now.

The partnership between Come Out & Play and River to River offers exciting opportunities for both festivals, bringing original games to new audiences in interesting locations around lower Manhattan. The festival is being produced in partnership with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

We will be soliciting submissions for the one-day July field day on Governor’s Island in April.

The Come Out & Play Festival and Games for Change are excited to announce a joint call for a real-world game that will leave a real and positive impact on New York City.  The game will be featured in this summer’s brand new Come Out & Play Summer Series of street games running in downtown Manhattan.  The game will run Sunday June 19, Father’s Day, in New York City.  The designers will then also have the chance to present their design and findings at the Games for Change Festival which opens the following day, June 20, in New York City and runs through June 22.

As we do each year at Come Out & Play, we’re looking for the most interesting and innovative real-world games we can help showcase to the world.  For the COaP & Games for Change’s first Real-world Games for Change Challenge, we’re looking for a game that will be played out in the real-world, be it on the streets or in a park that leaves the world a slightly better place.  The critical part of your design challenge: include a mechanic that drives players to leave an actual positive change on the area where the game was played.

Enter the challenge by submitting your game below.

Submissions are due by April 15, 2011.

COaP and Games for Change will select one game to fund the designers and help them with developing the game.  The winning designers will receive $5,000 to implement their game idea and have it ready to run for the New York City public on June 19.  (This will be payable half upon selection and the balance on June 19.) The game should be playable in lower Manhattan below Chambers Street.  It should also seek to engage a minimum of 200 people over the duration of the game. We will do our best to help you secure any necessary permissions to run the game.

The constraints:

• Leave an actual positive change on the area where the game is played
• Playable in public in New York City anywhere below Chambers Street
• The game should be designed so that a minimum of 200 individuals can play over the duration of the game.
• It will be the responsibility of the designer to document (photos or video) the game play so that the game’s design and execution can be shared as part of their presentation during the Games for Change Festival on Tuesday, June 21.
• Must be able to run Sunday, June 19

About Come Out & Play

Come Out & Play provides a forum for new types of street, mobile and location-based games.  We bring together players eager to explore the world around them, with designers interested in producing innovative new games and experiences.  Oh yeah, and we have city-sized fun.

About Games for Change Festival

Games for Change is the leading global advocate for supporting and making games for social impact. The Games for Change Festival is the largest gaming event in New York City and the only international event uniting “games for change” creators, the public, civil society, academia, the gaming industry and media.  The 8^th Annual edition will take place June 20 – 22 at NYU Skirball Center. For more info see www.gamesforchange.orgfestival