The visitor to an Art Arena game is confronted with an enormous piece of paper covering one wall of the room. Groups of players are at work painting, some with spontaneity or abandon, others with thoughtful precision. Back from the wall are knots of players calling our apparently cryptic information to those at work on the paper, or transmitting it in coded sounds using whistles, pipes and various home-made instruments. Colours are phased across the wall, sometimes colliding, sometimes mingling, or encircling each other. But what is the connection between the sound flow and the painting?

This book, originally published in 1979, describes the beginnings of a new approach to art education – an approach based on the use of games in art. The games draw not only upon artistic and design skills, but also upon those that teachers in all subjects try to develop in their pupils: logical thinking, breadth of judgement, imagination and sensibility in handling materials and media. They also provide a vehicle for familiarizing players with a wealth of concepts and data from different topics. The approach aims at promoting group work and cooperative interaction, and has proved to be of interest to social workers and to teachers of disabled and difficult children. It has been tried out with an unusual variety of groups, from mixed and low ability to groups of gifted children, students and adults, and while the level of playing has varied, the games have elicited high involvement from participants.

While referring to game theory and research, the book is essentially practical, giving instructions for inventing and playing games, and descriptions of a number of games played by different groups. The end of the book gives a detailed list of concepts and suggestions for further reading, and lists of materials and suppliers.