From SIMGAMES to Africa (and Back): A Retrospect from Canada

The author reviews both positive and negative aspects and memories of his 30-year involvement in simulation gaming as a teacher, consultant, and editor of SIMGAMES: The Canadian Journal of Simulation and Gaming. He touches on confusion in the defining of terms, unrealistic notions about the effects of debriefing, and a lack of rigor in both evaluating and thinking about the simulation gaming process. He refers too to the problems encountered in attempting to address in a small quarterly journal the wide interests and diverse readership inevitably found within the spectrum of simulation gaming. The article concludes with a positive commentary on his recent gaming experiences in Africa (Malawi) and a not-so-positive reflection on simulation gaming's contribution to the recovery (victim's) movement.