"Around the World in 80 Games": The 2026 Christmas Lecture with Marcus du Sautoy

Photo credit: Adam Tatton-Reid and Hay Festival

Around the World in 80 Games

All are welcome to attend the fifth annual Christmas Lecture with Marcus du Sautoy, the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, at the Century Center in downtown South Bend.Join Marcus as he takes us on a mathematical journey across the centuries and through countries, continents, and cultures in search of the games we love to play. He will explain how mathematics has always been deeply intertwined with games and investigates how games themselves can provide us with opportunities for mathematical insight into the world.

After the talk, enjoy festive refreshments and interactive, family-friendly science demos.

The Christmas Lecture presented by the College of Science aims to inspire in general audiences from age 5 to 105 the curiosity and wonder of scientific inquiry. Modeled after the Royal Institution’s Christmas Lecture series, the College of Science invites a world-renowned scientist to Notre Dame to present a series of lectures for all audiences.

Originally published at science.nd.edu.