Upper School Intersession 2025

Suppose you need to match one million students to one thousand colleges. Students have preferences over colleges, and colleges have preferences over their applicants. Is there a "good" way to reconcile all these preferences on both sides -- and what does "good" even mean in this context? We are going to discuss the basics of matching theory, a research area at the intersection of Economics and Computer Science that develops tools for answering such questions. We will also discuss applications of this theory: matching young doctors to hospitals, students to schools, and cadets to army branches.

Matching theory is one of the key parts of the broader discipline of the design of economic mechanisms, and if time permits, we will briefly touch on some other topics in this discipline.

This class will cover each piece individually: cases where it is strong, cases where it is weak, and how to make your own pieces powerful and your opponent's pieces weak.

Prerequisite: Familiarity with all rules of chess including checkmate, castling, and en passant. Familiarity with chess notation is helpful.

You probably know how to play poker, but what about classic strategy card games like Hearts, Spades, Euchre and Oh Hell!? If you’ve never played or just want to refresh yourself on the gameplay and get some practice, come join us…

Most of these games date back hundreds of years and have survived the test of time because they’re so well designed and so fun. We’ll talk about the rules and mechanics of each game, how to bid and score, and some basic strategy considerations. We’ll play a few hands of each and you can decide for yourself which is/are your favorite(s).

This will be a really relaxing way to learn some new games that you can play with family and friends. No prior experience playing cards is needed but we’ll send around a few videos in advance for folks to have some context coming in. And if you have the competitive spirit, we’ll be hosting a second session later this day that offers the chance to play full rounds in a friendly tournament.

Feel free to email Dan Bomze (dbomze@gmail.com) if you have any questions in advance of signing up

During this session, we will learn how a mathematical problem from game theory, whose solution was found by ancient Israelites over 2000 years ago but never recorded, was found anew by modern day mathematicians. Brace yourself for a wild ride.

P.S. I'll share the solution, promise!

If you know how to play any (or all) of the classic card games Hearts, Spades, Euchre and/or Oh Hell!, come join us to test your skills against other Nuevans. We’ll be hosting a friendly tournament that promises to be a fun time and there will be prizes! 

We’ll take a poll of everyone who joins the session and can mix and match different games to create one or more tournaments that appeal to everyone.

Everyone is welcome, from beginner to advanced. And encourage your favorite faculty and staff members to join the action. If you have never played or are a bit rusty, please join the earlier session in the day where we’re teaching folks to play all these games. And we’ll also have some video refreshers available (and live “coaching”) if you have questions as you go.

Feel free to email Dan Bomze (dbomze@gmail.com) if you have any questions in advance of signing up

In this session you'll learn how to design in-person storytelling games (including tabletop roleplaying games and larp). We'll play a few short games together and talk about processes and principles for game design. Then you'll design your own games and playtest them.

No prior play or design experience required.

During this session, we will learn how a mathematical problem from game theory, whose solution was found by ancient Israelites over 2000 years ago but never recorded, was found anew by modern day mathematicians. Brace yourself for a wild ride.

P.S. I'll share the solution, promise!