There might be people who believe that games are only for children. However, there are fewer and fewer of them or at least that’s what I would like to think when I’m looking at a smartphone, which is becoming an increasingly important attribute of everyday life (and you definitely have at least one game on it) as well as live entertainment – from board games to escape rooms – which is becoming popular again.
As for the latter, Kaunas is unique in that you can find this type of entertainment even in the library. Yes, there is a Sherlock Holmes-themed escape room in the Z. Kuzmickis branch of Kaunas Vincas Kudirka Public Library. In the library located in the modernist building in Žaliakalnis, you will find the first toy library in Lithuania, which will mark its third anniversary this December.
Toy library, which was selected as the most memorable cultural initiative in 2018, started with a collection of 150 toys and board games. Now, the number of exhibits that can be touched has increased three times. Young families took an interest in this place, but younger and older Kaunas residents are also increasingly using the services of the toy library.
Because to play is to live – only in a more exciting and interesting way. Especially with relatives and friends. Face-to-face communication, at the end of the second year of the pandemic, seems like a huge gift. Of course, in this issue we will also touch on technological progress. After all, even the Historical Presidential Palace of the Republic of Lithuania invites people to play an orienteering game using a smartphone, and you will not be able to discover the unique stories about Kulautuva resort without an internet connection.
When turning the pages of this year’s last issue of Kaunas Full of Culture, we encourage you to look at the exhibits kept in museums that testify to the history of Lithuanian games. We also get acquainted with Kaunas resident who creates board games that have an international following and a company that operates in our city and creates internationally presented computer games that contain several Kaunas highlights.
We will even discuss whether the Fluxus movement is art or just a game. And we suggest you begin your reading from a description of gamification – something that is becoming more and more entrenched not only in business but also in culture. Why do we like to play so much? Have we forgotten the reason? Holidays are the best time to remember.
