about Scott nicholson

Hi there!

I'm a Professor and Director of the Game Design and Development program at Wilfrid Laurier University Brantford campus in Ontario, Canada, where I do research on how to facilitate learning through games and play in non-classroom settings. I look at both the creation of transformative games and meaningful gamification.  I prefer to work in the world of non-digital games, such as tabletop games and live-action games.  My current focus is on escape rooms. 

You can keep up with me on:
Twitter at @snicholson,
Google Plus as scottnicholson
or Facebook at my public page.

I was on the faculty of Syracuse Unviersity's School of Information Studies from 2001-2015, which where I started the Library Game Lab of Syracuse, which became the Because Play Matters game lab.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, I was a Visiting Faculty member at the department of Compartive Media Studies at MIT, working primarily with the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab. 

I've also been a gamer most of my life. From 2005-2010, I hosted a Web-based video show called Board Games with Scott, where I taught viewers how to play many modern board games. I also have two published board games: Tulipmania 1637 and Going, Going, GONE!, and was the co-author of Cthulhu Live, 1st edition.

I am available as a speaker or consultant to talk about games, gamification, escape rooms, game design, informal learning, and you can reach me at scott@scottnicholson.com . I also can be hired to do workshops and training for corporate and non-profit organizations.