| Sumario: | This article presents information on computer-augmented tabletop games. It is informed that computer-augmented tabletop games assume a special role within the pervasive gaming paradigm. To research the opportunities of hybrid computer-augmented tabletop games, an experimental platform called STARS uses wireless communications to integrate dedicated interaction and sensing devices with a smart game table, providing various means to bridge the gap between the real world and the virtual world, supported by a software platform that facilitates prototyping different tabletop games. Several applications based on the STARS platform are in development to demonstrate different opportunities for computer-augmented tabletop games. The KnightMage game implements a basic set of rules for medieval hack-and-slash style role-playing adventures. Players explore and ransack dungeons and landscapes filled with horrifying monsters in a typical pen-and-paper playing style, including a human game master. Due to the mixture of cooperative behavior when fighting monsters and the competitive interests when searching for treasures, KnightMage profits by the platform's capability to convey game information via public and private communication channels, including large public displays, earphones, and PDAs.
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