Thank you SPE!

Written by Captain Carol

Educator, Artist, Designer, and Founder of the Blackwater Buccaneers. Captain Carol began educational tabletop games while pursuing her MFA in Visual Communication Design at Jacksonville State University.

Featured | Lumen | News

January 7, 2025

Special SPE Offer

As a special thank you to my SPE family enjoy an ongoing 20% discount on Lumen PhotoVocab Game Education Edition in our online shop. Visit SPE’s Educational Offers webpage to find the discount code for checkout!

🎁 Want to try Lumen for free?
Sign up for the Blackwater Buccaneers newsletter to receive a FREE Print-to-Play Sampler Edition (normally $9.99).

🛒 Don’t miss out!
Grab your copy of Lumen by January 31st to take advantage of our official launch sale and save 50% with code BLASTOFF. The Education Edition includes access to exclusive digital extras, such as templates for creating your own version of the game, with more resources being added in the future.

The Evolution of Lumen
The Evolution of Lumen

Lumen PhotoVocab Game Officially Launches: A Journey from MFA Thesis to Classroom Tool

I’m thrilled to announce the official launch of Lumen PhotoVocab Game! 🎉

Born out of my MFA thesis project on game-based learning at Jacksonville State University, Lumen was designed to address challenges I faced in my own classroom. Students often struggled to engage during critiques and group discussions, which are such an important part of learning. As a lifelong gamer, I knew that games could be powerful tools for bringing people together and overcoming fear of failure so I decided to design a card game to help.

Lumen went through extensive research, prototyping, and playtesting—including IBR-approved testing in design and photography classes at Jacksonville State University. The response was overwhelmingly positive, which inspired me to bring it to market.

📖 Interested in the research behind Lumen? You can download my paper, “Game-Based Learning: Building Competence in Visual Literacy Through Simulation,” at JSU Digital Commons.

SPE Memories

SPE South Central

2022 Chapter Conference 


Come Together
October 14-15, 2022
Bossier City & Shreveport, LA

Presentation/Workshop: Game-Based Learning: Building Competence in Visual Literacy Through Simulation

Thank you for the opportunity to present on game-based learning. I love talking about it and this was my first time presenting on it outside of my MFA thesis and my first time presenting at a SPE conference. So many firsts!

Thank you!

 

SPE Denver

2023 National Conference: Homecoming

 

March, 2023
Denver, Colorado

Presentation/Workshop: Game-Based Learning: Building Competence in Visual Literacy Through Simulation

I had just received some of my new Lumen Prototypes in to take with me for my presentation on game-based learning at national and I was blow away by a few people who were willing to pay $200 for my prototype. Thank you so much! It’s my hope to eventually Kickstart an affordable mass market edition of the game but I really wanted to get this game to educators ASAP and you helped motivate me to go ahead and publish a small run of Lumen until I have time to figure out a Kickstarter.

Congratulations to the Raffle and Contest winners!

SPE St. Louis

2024 National Conference

 

March, 2024
St. Louis, Missouri

Blackwater Buccaneer’s 1st Vendor Table at SPE

Thank you to everyone who came and talked to me and my First Mate Karl, and an extra big shoutout to those of you who purchased a copy of the game, participated in our contest, and who played the game. This was our first time having a vendor table anywhere and we had a small batch of Lumen air shipped to us just in time for the conference. Whew! I’m so glad they arrived! 🏴‍☠️

Thank you SPE!

I attended my first SPE conference as an undergraduate student in 2010, thanks to the encouragement of JSU Photography professors Doug Clark and Sarah Cusimano Miles. That experience was transformational in so many ways and marked the beginning of my love for SPE.

The SPE community has always been a source of inspiration and support for me. For years, I felt like an outsider since my primary focus was on graphic design, but I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to create a project that bridges my passions for design, photography, and education. Lumen brings people together for learning in a fun and engaging way, and I’m thrilled to share it with this incredible community.

Thank you all for your encouragement and for being such a meaningful part of my journey.

Best wishes,
Captain Carol