This movement that I have called ludoztli (making games) exhorts the artist to stop making non interactive art, and break the wall between the art object and the passive viewer.

Learn about the three board games I created based on the political frontier between México and the United States. With them, I attempt to promote discourse and interest among players about the reality of the border.

Check material by other artists and designers that make use of games to promote their social concerns and perspectives

My name is Francisco Ortega-Grimaldo, a Doctor in Critical Studies and Artistic Practices. I work as an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University’s School of Art.

Crossing the Bridge:

The Game at a Glance : click over the images to view them in higher resolution (1000 x 750 px)

This is a modified version of a game that I designed back in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks to the World Trade Center. The new version of “Crossing the Bridge” illustrates the symbiotic relationship of the El Paso-Juarez border by resembling the cliché of the illegal exchange of goods between both cities.

In the game, players smuggle illegal cargo into the United States like food, alcohol, illegal aliens and drugs that they hide in their vehicles. But it is not that easy, the Border Patrol Officers will be searching for illegal cargo before you enter the country. They could take your cargo, your passport or even your car as a penalty for being a smuggler.

But when succeeding, the players receive money for their cargo and they can use it to buy appliances for their houses (that need to be smuggled back to México to avoid paying taxes) or to buy more cars. The player who gets all the appliances necessary to have a first-class-home, wins.