For History is Written by the Winners, Brooklyn-based handcrafted game designers Fredericks & Mae stage a grand tournament at the Museum of Arts and Design. This participatory event answers the question of the role of a modern design museum by articulating it as an arena. History is Written by the Winners highlights how museums differ from cultural institutions like libraries, in that they intentionally stimulate the development of new forms of interaction. Using Fredericks & Mae's arsenal of games, the Museum will bring visitors into connection, competition, and thrall.  

Revealing the tension inherent in many games, a search for communion via competition, History is Written by the Winners highlights how games are not about work or part of any economic model of production. Instead, games were created for human connection. Whether it is the brotherhood of the team or the collective frenzy of the crowd, players gather outside of work in search of community and closeness. However, most games end with winners and losers, so a hierarchy emerges from a once enthusiastic collective. While hierarchy is anathema to intimacy, history suggests a more elusive truth: a little competition is good thing.  Then again, history is a story written by winners.