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Star Sailor Game Revised Game Review Playtest for Merideth

Reflection questions

  1. What made the experience fun or not?
    • The rocket dice made the experience fun.
  2. What is the motivating factor to get or keep players playing?
    • The motivating factor is to keep up your stats while also making it to the end of the game.
  3. Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside of the game?
    • I understand what the game is trying to get across but there really is no incentive still to feel bad for destroying the planets.
  4. What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?
    • The mechanics include the predetermined character stats and the rocket die roll. The game’s metaphor is to watch how we use resources before its too late.
  5. How does the gameplay make you feel? Who does the game make you feel empathy for?
    • The gameplay makes me feel competitive and excited but also makes me think. I do not feel empathy for anyone.
  6. Is the game an activist game? If so what does the game play advocate for?
    • This is not an activist game yet. It wasnt to advocate for saving the planet.
  7. Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku.
    • Exciting in-game
    • Lots of things to think about,
    • had such a great time
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Week 8 Questions

Dungeons and Dragons

  1. What made the experience fun or not?

What made the experience fun or not was how the person deciding how the game goes works with you or works against you.

  1. What is the motivating factor to get or keep players playing?

How the person making the rules decides what is going on. If they make it super challenging or deny everything you want to do then the players aren’t going to want to keep playing.

  1. Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside of the game?

I would say yes based on how the game narrative plays out because you could be trying to solve world hunger or end sexism but as a mythical creature.

  1. What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?

Dungeons & Dragons is a metaphor for collaborative storytelling shaped by both choice and chance. Key mechanics include role-playing, dice-based outcomes, and a dungeon master guiding the world.

  1. How does the gameplay make you feel? Who does the game make you feel empathy for?

The gameplay feels immersive and unpredictable, mixing excitement with tension. It builds empathy for your own character and your party as you experience their struggles and growth together.

  1. Is the game an activist game? If so what does the game play advocate for?

It isn’t really an activist game, but it can explore themes like justice, power, and morality. It mainly promotes empathy, teamwork, and understanding different perspectives.

  1. Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku.

Players create characters and explore a shared fantasy world together.
Their choices shape the story, but dice determine success or failure.
The result is a unique, collaborative adventure every time.

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Game Ideas Week 3

5 game ideas that revolve around the theme of empathy. Wrinkle: Take one of the five ideas and make it an alternate reality game.

  1. Recently I’ve been thinking of the childhood movie The Fox and the Hound. I’d like to make a game built on this concept. Early in the game, players work together with shared abilities. Eventually, there is forced separation via different objectives/ rewards for betrayal. The player’s loyalty, and empathy for others, is tested.
  2. A memory game that explores the life of a dementia patient. Players go through an older woman’s last memories of home. Different objects bring up memories, but how they are remembered changes over the course of the game. Players begin to understand the person’s life empathetically via storytelling and exploration. What starts as a problem solving game becomes potentially unsolvable due to the patient’s mental deterioration.
  3. A game that makes you question empathy within a romantic relationship. Players switch perspectives between two characters in conflict and play strategically while having to understand the other person’s reasoning and emotions. The game encourages players to think about how to deal with misunderstanding.
    • (Alternate Reality Game: In an AR version, the game records your chosen responses to the other character and mirrors the projected arguments back onto you. The other character turns out to be you at a different time. )
  4. An empathetic game that revolves around the theme of hunting. One player plays on the side of a family of deer, and the other side is the hunter. Again, thinking of empathetic movies like Bambi.
  5. I was considering a building game last semester that would utilize card towers. It would be interesting to circle back to this concept and explore fragility to push an empathetic message. I believe this could go in a lot of different directions.
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Game Ideas Week 2

5 new game ideas that explore changing players’ minds about (climate change, energy, politics, etc.)

  1. A game about exposure to harmful chemicals in our environment. Players would have to handle decision making and learn how difficult it is to avoid microplastics, PFAS, and pesticides in everyday life. The goal would be to reduce exposure by making informed choices.
  2. A game that simulates the impact of addiction to social media and being on our phones. There are applications that use the same addictive methods to positively motivate users to adopt better habits, maybe this game would be more from the perspective of the developer, similarly to how the McDonald’s game forces the user to consider the ethics of what they’re consuming. The player would work against a character’s attempts at productivity, maintaining relationships, and sleep, rewarding them with dopamine, to illustrate the impact of these algorithms.
  3. A game that explores changing a player’s mind about AI. Players take the role of an AI model that is being developed and must make fast paced ethical decisions that train the kind of responses you can generate.
  4. A game that addresses the concept of propaganda and political media. I’m not sure how this would work yet as a game, but I like the idea of challenging the current political climate since everyone seems to be positioned against each other.
  5. A game that changes a player’s mind about reality and makes them question their perception of others. The players would be exposed to a range of other characters with different personalities and backgrounds, maybe based on observable traits like that of the Myer’s Briggs personality test. The objective would revolve around finding similarities with other players and reflection.

Rewrite of endless game idea (from week 1) now made into a persuasive game:

  1. ‘Pire: lets you build and evolve an empire, and as natural disasters happen, the empire falls and keeps going, pick a time period.
  2. Antique-coon: A tycoon game that allows you to get more items as the years progress, there will be more and more items to sell, hence it never ends
  3. Star Sailor: A planet exploring simulator with randomly generated planets to explore and gather materials from
  4. Minimum wage simulator: Work at a restaurant to get out of debt, never ends
  5. Charon: You are the person that takes people across the river to the underworld, allowing you to talk to people while you sail across.

Rewrite of ‘Pire: Players build and evolve an empire in different historical time periods, but the overuse of natural resources leads to potential collapse. This theme would emerge later in the game, exposing how unsustainable expansion and poor environmental decisions can cause the fall of an empire. I would consider historical factors such as the collapse of the Mayan Empire to add to the persuasiveness of the game.

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Spoon Buffet (Revised Rules)

Players: 2–4
Time: 15–20 minutes

Goal

Manage your daily energy (“spoons”) and finish the game with the most remaining—without burning out or going into debt.

What Are “Spoons”?

Spoons represent your mental, emotional, and physical energy.
Each day you have a limited amount, spend it wisely, recover when you can, and avoid burnout.

Card Types

  • Task Cards (Work, School, Chores)
    → Cost spoons, earn points
  • Self-Care Cards (Sleep, Exercise, Mindfulness)
    → Restore spoons
  • Support Cards (Friends, Therapy, Family)
    → Protect or assist against stress
  • Stress Cards (Anxiety, Overcommitment, Events)
    → Drain spoons or create negative effects

Setup

  • Shuffle all cards into one deck
  • Each player starts with:
    • 10 spoons (this is your max)
    • 0 Spoon Debt tokens
  • Deal 7 cards to each player
  • Keep spoon counts visible

Round Structure 

Each round follows these clear steps:

1. Choose Cards 

  • Each player selects 1 card from their hand
  • Place them face down

Important:

  • You may play up to 1 card per turn
  • If you play 1 card, you must be able to afford all the spoon costs

2. Reveal Cards

  • All players reveal their chosen cards at the same time

3. Resolve Cards 

Resolve cards in this order for clarity:

  1. Support Cards (protection is set up first)
  2. Stress Cards (apply or attempt to counter)
  3. Task Cards (pay costs, gain points)
  4. Self-Care Cards (restore spoons last)

4. Update Spoons

  • Apply all spoon gains and losses
  • If you drop below 0 → trigger Spoon Debt (see below)

5. Pass Hands

  • Pass remaining cards:
    • Left on odd rounds
    • Right on even rounds

6. Repeat

  • Continue until all cards are played

Card Rules 

Task Cards

  • Cost 1–3 spoons
  • Worth +1 point each (tracked immediately or at end)
  • If you cannot afford the cost, you must:
    • Still resolve the card
    • Take Spoon Debt

Self-Care Cards

  • Restore 1–3 spoons
  • Cannot exceed 10 spoons (your max)
  • If you play multiple, effects stack

Support Cards

  • Played before Stress resolves
  • Can:
    • Reduce spoon loss
    • Cancel Stress effects
    • Help another player (if specified)

Clarification:
You may only use Support cards the turn they are played, unless stated otherwise.

Stress Cards

  • Cause spoon loss or negative effects
  • Some require interaction:
    • Example: another player may help you
  • If no one helps → penalty increases

Spoon Debt (Burnout Mechanic)

If your spoons drop below 0:

  • Take 1 Spoon Debt token
  • Reset your spoons to 0 immediately

Penalty

  • Each token = –2 points

👉 This reinforces the theme: pushing too hard has consequences.

End of Game & Scoring

After all rounds:

  • +1 point per remaining spoon
  • +1 point per completed Task card
  • –2 points per Spoon Debt token

Highest score wins

Quick Turn Example

  1. You play:
    • 1 Task (cost 2)
  2. Resolve:
    • Pay 2 spoons
  3. Net change = -2 spoons to your number of spoons hand in hand
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Game Maker’s Observations – Spoon Buffet

Based on the players who tested and responded to Spoon Buffet

Player Playtest Observations:

  • Clarify rules about card usage
    • Confusion on whether players can play one card or multiple cards per turn
    • Some cards imply multi-card play, while rules say otherwise → inconsistency
  • Simplify rule instructions
    • Players struggled to understand how to play cards from their hand
    • Rules should be more step-by-step and explicit
  • Align card text with the rulebook
    • Card instructions and official rules need to match exactly
    • Remove any wording that suggests mechanics that aren’t allowed
  • Consider allowing multiple card plays per turn
    • Multiple players expressed wanting this option
    • Could improve strategy, engagement, and flow
  • Improve clarity of gameplay flow
    • Players weren’t always sure what to do on their turn
    • Add a turn structure guide (ex., draw → play → resolve → discard)
  • Increase player interaction
    • Add mechanics that encourage interaction between players
    • Currently feels like a missed potential in this area
  • Clarify the game’s message/theme
    • “Balancing life” is somewhat present but not obvious
    • Strengthen how mechanics connect to the theme
  • Reduce overall confusion
    • Multiple players reported feeling confused
    • Could be addressed through:
      • clearer rules
      • Examples of play
      • possibly a quick-start guide
  • Add visual/physical aids
    • Suggestion: use real spoons or stronger visual elements
    • Helps with understanding and immersion
  • Ensure the intended gameplay experience is clear
    • Players felt unsure if they were playing “correctly.”
    • Include example turns or sample scenarios
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Em’s Game 2 (Warlock)

  • What made it fun or not?
    • The game was fun on the second run as I got more comfortable with the mechanics. I enjoyed thinking of creative ways to solve the problem, such as snapping the flute to repurpose it.  
  • What motivates players to start or keep playing?
    • The freedom to think of quirky, out-of-the-box ideas and the unpredictable storylines are what make you want to keep playing.  
  • Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside the game?
    • It is not persuasive because it does not want you to do anything. However, it encourages you to think creatively.  
  • What’s the game’s metaphor, and which mechanics stand out?
    • The metaphor is problem-solving and overcoming magical challenges set by the fantasy world. The dice mechanics stand out because they determine whether your creative ideas succeed or fail.  
  • How does the gameplay make you feel? Who do you empathize with?
    • The gameplay is unpredictable and exciting. I empathized most with the team as they worked together to get past the challenges.  
  • Is the game an activist game? If so, what does it advocate?
    • It is not an activist game. Instead, it is all about fantasy storylines, thinking creatively, imagination, teamwork, and problem-solving.  
  • Describe the game in three sentences
    • The fantasy world is magical. The fantasy world is a wizarding world filled with spells. The storylines are unpredictable as the group works together to get past the magical challenges.
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Em’s DND Game 1 (Litch)

  • What made the experience fun or not?
    • The game was fun because it was easy for players to get into without prior knowledge of the existing universe, and the players were given the freedom to use their creativity in making decisions. 
  • What is the motivating factor to get or keep players playing? What the game did was give the players a sense of adventure, which makes the game fun.
    • The reptile fight was the most exciting part of the game, making it fun. The reptile fight was the reason the players kept playing the game. 
  • Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside of the game? The game was not persuasive, but it promoted creativity, storytelling, and teamwork. What is the game’s metaphor, and which of the game’s mechanics stand out?
    • Adventure, overcoming challenges, was the metaphor used in the game. The D-20 dice roll system was the only mechanic used in the game. 
  • How does the gameplay make you feel? Who does the game make you feel empathy for?
    • I felt a sense of adventure, which was a good feeling. The game made me feel empathy for my character as I tried to figure out their purpose. 
  • Is the game an activist game? If so, what does the gameplay advocate for? No, the game was not an activist game.
    • The game focused more on storytelling, creativity, and teamwork than on advocating for a cause. 
  • Describe the game in 3 sentences
    • The game was easy for players to get into because it wasn’t too complex. The game was fun because the challenging part, the reptile fight, was the most exciting part of the game. The game was fun because it was adventurous, which was a good thing.