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.

H1-B Visa:

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

This game unites all four [4] players to beat the game’s mechanics in a race against time. This game called “H1-B Visa,” illustrates the procedures that an immigrant has to go through in order to reach a legal status in the United States.

All players need to collaborate in order to beat the 30-minute clock. When time runs out, if players where not able to recover their personal documents, pay the appropriate fees, present their applications and/or have their passport ready, all of them will be deported.

While moving around the game board, searching for all the documentation, players need to be careful not to bump into Border Patrol Officers that will send them to the interrogation room for questioning until some other player presents the appropriate documentation. Players can use the subway to move faster, drink coffee to run like the wind, or take a cab to get as fast as they can to the U.S. Consulate and try to get their H1-B Visa.