The Mission of Obscure Games
We believe in the power of play to foster positive physical and emotional development and build strong social relationships.
Our creative play focuses on interpersonal interaction and out-of-the-box thinking via a unique collaborative process. We play never-before-seen games that challenge participants in new ways and require creativity, teamwork, and innovative thinking. Obscure Games works with children and adults, recognizing that play deeply enriches lives at any age.
Through these imaginative social experiences, we encourage players to re-imagine their community, their relationships, and themselves, and to make deep, meaningful connections to their environment and to one another.
About Us
Obscure Games brings people together through play. We find, invent, and play strange, new, and obscure sports and games, favoring player interaction over competition. We play our games, we play other people’s games, we play games pulled from antiquity, change rules as we see fit, and usually forget to keep score.
What makes a good game? Read our thoughts on the matter.
Obscure Games was founded in August 2009, and began hosting weekly events for the University of Pittsburgh Outdoors Club. Since then, we’ve grown beyond the university setting, but continue to run games and events for the college/young professional/young-at-heart crowd. New players join us every week, and regulars come back to play again.
Every week, we invent and play new games at our free game sessions. You can find rules for lots of the games we play on Ludocity, a great website to which you (yes you) can add your own games. Games are geared toward men and women 18 and older. Athleticism helps, but there are no fitness standards. There’s no league to join, and it’s totally free.
Obscure Games also does special events, like a Human Curling tournament, or 1930′s Period-Clothing Stickball, and the Steel City Games Fest, a three-day festival of games held in Pittsburgh from August 27th-29th. You can get updates about upcoming events by becoming fans of us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or signing up for our email list. And if you’ve got a favorite game, send us an email, tell us about it, and we’ll try it out!