By Melanie Van Der Hoorn

Serious Fun looks at architecture and urban design games that have been conceived and created by architects, urban designers, artists and game developers since the end of the twentieth century – from doll’s houses to construction games and city building games, from SimCity to Block by Block. The games are looked at from both a game technical and an architectural-critical point of view. As much attention is paid to the games themselves (the way they look, their construction and rules) as to their playing – in particular, to the space that players receive or take for their personal, spontaneous, unexpected and especially subversive moves and ideas. What perception of, and interaction with, the built environment do they express? What messages do the games communicate? How critical and innovative are the underlying concepts: Are stereotypes confirmed or broken? Do they address environmental and social issues? Serious Fun presents games and playfulness as serious tools for every architect and urban designer.