“There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game is played for the purpose of continuing the play.” Here are the first words of a wonderful book by James Carse called simply, Finite and Infinite Games.
For years, I have been able to find seeming endless examples of Finite Games. Sports, business, politics, and almost every form of board, card, or arcade game all thrive on our need to win. Yet finding an infinite game has proven to be much more of a challenge. And so, it is with great joy that I introduce you to a Baltimore Home Grown Infinite Game. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Mixtum!
Mixtum looks and feels as much like a board game, as it does a tool you might find in an Alhemist’s attic. It is both toy and tool, playful and deadly serious. It can and has been used for making music, writing stories, choreography, telling fortunes, divination, writing poems, gardening, and even naming babies! You see, Mixtum claims itself as a creative tool for generating ideas, and as such, the ideas it generates, and for what specific uses, are seemingly infinite.
Mixtum is the brainchild of two MICA Graduates – Yutaka Houlette and Heidi Gustafson, who both also have experience and deep interests in Early Childhood Education. The game itself emerged out of an exploration of Futures Education, a new way of looking at how to teach kids to be prepared for the unknown as well as to become familiar with and utilize the unknown for innovation and success. Though Heidi is currently in Washington State, I was able to meet up with Yutaka as his home is in Charles Village.
Yutaka is a quiet, calm and peaceful, as is his apartment. And yet, you get the impression that his brain is always churning. A student of sculpture, turned freelance illustrator, he was responsible for generating the nearly 100 images on the Mixtum Board, which were determined by both him and Heidi in a series of brainstorming sessions over a several day period. He told me that they began with a list of random things and then churned away at it until it included as many pieces of reality as 100 pictures would allow.
The board itself, finely printed by Baltimore Print Studios, is made of three concentric circles of images. At the center of the board are three spinners, numbered 1-3, which corresponds to a specific ring on the board. With a flick of the finger, you arrive at three random images. This allows for 32,768 potential combinations.
From there, what you do with Mixtum is up to you.
Mixtum has its official launch in August at the Metro Gallery, and in just 6 months, the scope of what it has been used for is truly amazing. Even just this past weekend, Mixtum was used to generate choreography for The Collective, for their performance at The Theatre Project. It also struck me that Mixtum is, in many ways, quite similar to the Tarot, and both can be used in much the same way… to generate images and symbols, which can be interpreted at will in order to gain new perspective and understanding on life, including your future, past, and present.
I tested the Mixtum board with the Imagi-Meter At Home Creative Juice Detector, and the reading were just what I had expected. As a tool for generating ideas, the juices flow strong through the game, as it awaits the mingling with the human imagination.
There have only been 100 Mixtum Boards produced so far, so it may be a while before you can own one for yourself, but Yutaka will be at the Winter Festival of Wonders during the Mystery Markeyplace on Saturday, February 11th, with multiple Mixtum Boards in hand. Stop by, say hi, and embrace your chance to play Mixtum… Baltimore’s own Infinite Game!
As I began with a quote from James Carse, I will end with one as well. “Finite players play within boundaries; infinite players play with boundaries”
Until Next Time,
Dr. Finius J. Nodnol III, Esq.
For more information on Mixtum, please visit www.Mixtum.org
