Chain Reaction (Westwood)

Locative game exhibited at the Hammer Museum as part of the group show, Game Room. Designed to bring visitors out of the gallery and into the surrounding neighborhood, players picked up instructions at the gallery and used them to navigate the streets of Westwood. Instructions guided players to lock direction when encountering evidence of chain stores and move freely after encountering independent businesses or creative expressions.

“Samara Smith’s Chain Reaction (Westwood) (2012) is a particularly relevant example of how games in public space, also known as ‘big urban games,’ are contemporary adaptations of the dérive model… the game trains players to heighten personal awareness of their surroundings by challenging them to find particular socioeconomic clues.”

— The Aesthetics of Play, Sarah Brin (Game Room Poster, Hammer Museum)

Chain Reaction Westwood was a second iteration of Chain Reaction (Midtown) set in NYC (2006). Players used instructions to explore Midtown Manhattan. Instructions guided players to lock direction when encountering chain stores and move freely after encountering evidence of independent business and creative expression.

“A fun and participatory way to explore and map urban spaces, this game’s type of investigative rules set holds interesting potential for community-based documentary projects.”

— Critical Play: Radical Game Design, Mary Flanagan (pp. 210–211)