Glass Bead Games

Here, I'm archiving links to sequences of blog posts relevant to the Glass Bead Game (GBG), Hermann Hesse's chimerical idea for a pastime that allows us to "play" ideas of all kinds and explore how they relate to one another.  Will there ever be a real-world version of this elusive concept?  Plenty of real-world people are working on it....

First, here are a few posts that describe some of the ways in which others are developing some fascinating GBG variants:

• Charles Cameron's Hipbone games
• Ron Hale-Evans' Kennexions
• Horden's Intrachange & Macnamee's Ludus Solemnis (contrasted)

I should do more of these!

Next, here's a series of posts in which I play an example "solitaire" 10-part version of Charles Cameron's Hipbone GBG:

• Shall we play a (Glass Bead) game? (Moves 1,2,3)
• The Ode To Joy game: Move 4
• The Ode To Joy game: Half Time (Move 5)
• The Ode To Joy game: Moves 6,7
• The Ode To Joy game: Move 8 goes to 11
• The Ode To Joy game: Move 9
• The Ode To Joy game, Completed

Some other random musings of my own:

• So many things are all about tension and release
• Musical intervals are weirdly emotional 
• Musical harmonies also kind of act like gravity...
• ...and planets also sing the music of the spheres.
• Glass Bead Pairings: Analog Man
• Glass Bead Pairings: Fire and Ice

Lastly, another series of posts that "plays" through all 12+ incarnations of Doctor Who, with grace notes of astrological symbolism and New Years Resolutions, from a few years ago.  Is it a true GBG?  Why not?  :-)

• Introductory post
• (1) Hartnell the Leo
• (2) Troughton the Virgo
• (3) Pertwee the Libra
• (4) Baker [Tom] the Scorpio
• (5) Davison the Sagittarius
• (6) Baker [Colin] the Capricorn
• (7) McCoy the Aquarius
• (8) McGann the Pisces
• (8.5) Hurt the... Vernal Equinox?
• (9) Eccleston the Aries
• (10) Tennant the Taurus
• (11) Smith the Gemini
• (12) Capaldi the Cancer [with 2016 follow-up]