The Cards We’re Dealt is a card game that is meant to illuminate social imbalances by the abilities or disabilities of certain characters within the game. It consists of mainly one mechanic of taking and passing cards to add up the most points, but players’ actions are limited by the character that they assume.
Design Process & Thought Process:
Iterative Design:
As this is the game I chose to present as my final game, I did a lot of iterating on the design, mechanics, rule book, and flow of the game. I went through three of four rounds of rule rewording and especially over the design and wording of the cards, mini rules and game box.
I faced challenges when it came to the practical side of printing and minor design issues of color and details. This just took a lot of trial and error to work out flaws.
The first version with simple rules and a deck of classic cards:
And then I created special characters with specific abilities:
Then I made a rulebook with the design but then after that decided to consolidate the whole game into a little playing card size – so made the rulebook mini and with a special mini rule card (pictures are down in the game pieces section)
Game Mechanics:
Turns consist of taking a card from the hand passed to you to place face down in front of you.
Keep passing around the hands until the cards run out. If during the round you cannot take a card due to your players rules, still take a card and put it next to your actual hand on the table in front of you which acts as a discard pile (which does not add to your score)
each player can attempt to gain more points or decrease other players’ points by what is laid out by the rules of each Character card
Player Goals: Players are trying to get the most points by collecting the highest value cards they can based off of their characters.
Gameplay Sequence:
Game Board & Components:
The cards which are the main catalysts of the game mechanics:
I learned a lot from making this game. It was a very fun process of coming up with a game concept around inequality and then creating an aesthetic for that message. Iterating all the different pieces made me think deeper about the message and how everything would work together. In the future, I would want to add more dynamic to the gameplay and continue to expand upon the illustration and design.
Roses are Red is an environmental game where players work to cultivate their gardens, collecting and maintaining resources and protecting against bad weather to successful grow beautiful flowers. This game is meant for mainly older children, perhaps teenagers, to adults of all ages due to its more complex gameplay and for anyone interested in strategy, lots of game pieces and environmental impact awareness games.
Design Process & Thought Process:
Game Design Document (GDD):
The core of Roses are Red is collecting resources to be able to plant flowers (which are worth points) and use other various cards and tokens to also gain more points. The message is reflected in the game play. I wanted the game to make players aware of the effort and patience it takes to grow plant life. This game is split into four rounds, which are the seasons, where each round progressively requires more resources and “energy” to sustain your plant life which gains you the most points in the end.
The general mechanics involve passing hands around and collecting cards to be used to gain other cards. Cards generally “cost” other resources to obtain so it is a game of strategy in which cards you collect to gain other ones.
Iterative Design:
Given the amount of cards and game pieces and rules, I had many trial and error attempts at making this game playable. Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, I did not have time to fully develop the game, but went through several iterations of card design and mechanics and rulebook writing. The biggest struggle was determining the number of cards per round to make it competitive but not too short or too long. The balance of the game is something that still needs to be played out more but was interesting to experiment with.
Some cards design changes are as follow:
to
For the future, I would need to put more examples of gameplay in the rules to make it more clear how each move and round works.
I spent a lot of time iterating on the effectiveness of the Flower Beds, which are the players main game boards which they collect all their cards on.
This is more what the actual game board Flower Bed would look like. It took a lot of work to get the right size and spacing and intuitiveness of where players would place their cards once collected:
Game Mechanics:
Each round follows the drafting style:
take one card from your hand and pass the remainder of the hand to the player next to you
pick up the next hand, take a card, and continue these actions until no cards remain.
After each round the direction of passing reverses.
Spring & Autumn → pass left
Summer & Winter → pass right
Each player is trying to collect and maintain their resources to “grow” more flowers (gain Flower Points)
The example hand below demonstrates where cards go and how the mechanics of taking cards and passing works:
At the end of Winter:
Add up all Flower Points from Flower Cards.
Additional Points:
+2 points for most remaining resources
+1 point per token per player
+3 points for most flowers
Player Goals: Players pass cards to try to collect resources in order to have the chance to also collect flowers based off of the resources they have and how much they are worth. Players are trying to get the most points. You can get points by collecting flower cards, winning weather “battles” (having the most weather cards) and having the most resources.
Gameplay Sequence:
Game Board & Components:
Each player is given a Flower Bed at random to grow their flowers on and collect resources. Each Flower Bed comes with a resource built in already. Flowers are collected on the colored rectangles at the bottom, resources are stored by partially sliding them under the board where the resource sun is in the top left corner. Everything else is placed on top of the board or above it to the right.
The cards have what is required to obtain them in the top left corner. What the card is is described and displayed in the center.
Seed Cards
Required to grow flowers.
Some flowers require multiple seeds.
Water Cards
Used to “activate” seeds.
Certain flowers require a set amount of water.
Sunshine Cards
Required along with water to grow flowers.
Some advanced flowers require extra sunlight.
Offensive:
Weather Cards
Only introduced in Season 2 – Summer
These cards rack up over the game and are used as essentially “battling” your team mates.
They only affect the players next to you
Place a weather card above your Flower Bed when selected from the hand.
Whoever has more weather cards at the end of a season gets an extra token
Main points:
Flower Cards (Points)
Gained when you meet the requirements.
Some higher-value flowers require combinations (ex: 2 Seeds + 2 Water + 1 Sun).
Put these cards at the bottom of your Flower Bed when collected
My family helped playlets this game for me. They said it was playable from the two rounds that I was able to fully create. They recommended working on the wording for rules and making sure all the cards were accurate and aligned with each round correctly.
I worked on wording, but while I wasn’t able to work on the design of the cards and making sure they matched the difficulty of each round correctly, that is something that I would focus on in the future.
Game Reflections:
I learned that the development process is long and hard for a complicated game with lots of mechanics. I would have given myself more time to iterate and be able to get more player feedback, cause that really helped me be able to get a direction that I needed to be able to put this all together. There are a lot of game pieces involved and it was fun to make a game like this come to life, even if just in the beginning stages.
Limitation is a game that requires the players to use themselves as the game pieces and work together to help those players with weaker abilities to get across the finish line at the same time as everyone else. Each player is assigned an age category which has certain movement abilities that can be shared with certain other ages. It is a game that plays with the ideas of sacrifice and giving of yourself for “weaker”/slower people. It is for all ages and types of people.
Design Process & Thought Process:
Game Design Document (GDD):
Limitation is a physical game where players move through a race to cooperatively get to the end together. It focuses on specific “age restrictions” that each player assumes which limits their actions throughout the game. It focuses on sacrifice for others and team play.
The rules and mechanics are very simple. They consist of each player rolling a dice for how many steps they can take, while also relying on their age card to tell them if there are any restrictions to their movements.
For example: If someone is “The Baby” they cannot move on their own. Only The Teenager or The Boomer can help them move by giving up one of their moves.
Iterative Design:
Since this game is dependent on the players as the game pieces and your environment as the “gameboard”, I chose to focus on iterating the game rules and mechanics, seeing how tweaking certain mechanics would impact player dynamics.
Changes in the Rules:
Rulebook Version 1 “ Objective: To complete a “relay race” and make it back across the starting line together
Materials: 4-6 players 6 age cards (with rules for movement and limitations) 6 dice of different Your body, mind, and creativity
Setup: Each player randomly chooses an age card and a dice Players choose a space to line up (like at a race starting line)
Gameplay: Each movement is determined by individual dice rolls (in front of each person on the floor or any flat space near you) Follow the instructions on your age card to see how many steps you can take. Players all roll dice at the same time but don’t roll again until everyone has moved at least one movement.
Continue rolling dice and making movements until you have made it to a determined end point and then turn around and make it back to your starting position. The starting position becomes the finish line.
This is essentially a relay race but with limitations
The catch is you must all cross the finish line together to win
Work together to help slower players and give up your movements so you can all successfully make it across the finishing line
Winning/Losing:
When all the players complete the “relay” together they win
If more than one player crosses the finish line before the others, you all lose and the player who went alone can be shamed and booed for leaving their fellows behind
In version 2, I clarified the gameplay and materials sections to make it more straightforward and clear.
Rulebook (Version 2)
Objective: This is essentially a relay race but with limitations. The catch is you must all cross the finish line together to win
Materials: 4-6 players 6 age cards (with rules for movement and limitations) 1 dice per player Open space for movement Optional: Tape, cones, markers for start/end line
Setup: Each player randomly chooses an age card and a dice This game can be played in any environment that allows you space to walk. Choose a space to line up like at the start of a race and mark an end line.
Gameplay:
At the start of every round:
Players all roll their dice
Players move according to
The dice number
Their age card limitations
don’t roll again until everyone has moved at least one movement.
The team must:
Reach the Turning Point
Reverse direction
Return together across the Starting Line
The Starting Line becomes the Finish Line on the return trip.
Work together to help slower players and give up your movements so you can all successfully make it across the finishing line
Winning/Losing:
The game is won when all the players complete the relay together.
If more than one player crosses the finish line before the others, you all lose and the player who went alone can be shamed and booed for leaving their fellows behind.
Version 1 is shown below:
For version 2, I kept with the same cards since I unfortunately ran out of time to improve them, but wish to do so in the future of developing the game.
Game Mechanics:
The game mechanics consist of rolling dice and moving according to what you are allowed based on your age card. There is an additional mechanic of giving up your own movements to help that of others.
Example of gameplay below:
Player Goals: The players goals are simple – get to the end together. They are all trying to finish a race, but not to win individually but as a team. They achieve that by completing their actions but making selfless choices to give to others who can’t.
Game Board & Components:
The dice are what determines the number of movements that players can move. The people themselves are the player pieces and move on the “game board” of whatever environment they’re in. The age cards guide the characters in their specific limitations and how they can help other players.
One player found it pretty easy to play with little difficulty in achieving the end result. However, she thought that adding obstacles as an outdoor game could make it more difficult and intriguing.
Another player honestly enjoyed it and understood the narrative but thought adding obstacles again could be intriguing OR the ability to be “hurt” and move backward. I thought it was interesting that he thought being the “ancient” character was unimportant cause you couldn’t do anything – which was exactly the point.
Someone else said it made them happy and I think that’s kinda fun.
I took away adding an element of difficulty and moving backward for version 2.
Game Reflections:
Like what I said above, I would add more difficulty initially and then pair back in later versions so people can give more constructive feedback that I can take and develop more specifics better in making it intriguing enough in its strategy and not too easy.
I want to expand upon the age cards as well and give more specific direction. Adding the “consequences” that would come with helping someone else would also be added on the cards and design aesthetic would also be something I would work on for this game in the future.
Was it fun? It was very fun, I liked this game a lot
What were the player interactions? Player interactions consisted of dealing with the people next to you but still being aware of what the other players were doing – cards are passed around in a circle
How long did it take to learn? Maybe one game which is like 20-30 minutes, you start to understand the strategy and mechanics after playing a round and then more once you play a whole game
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? There are a lot of little pieces and a few rules to remember so that is frustrating at first
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? The strategy is really fun, there are several different ways to get the most points and I think that is very cool
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Maybe like block the ability for your neighbors to buy stuff from you
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Make the rule book easier to understand lol
Is this a game you would play again? Yes, it’s complicated yet really quick to learn and play and comes with many different ways to win and get more points
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Well there are three distinct “eras” in the game so that’s probably what the 3 Acts would be, 1st era which is setup and gaining resources, then 2nd which is building more structure and then the 3rd which is gaining extra advantages to gain more points before the end
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? It is mostly competitive, trying to take cards that would benefit other players later and gain the most points, but a little collaborative with who you decide to trade with so you don’t lose too many coins
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The metaphor is trading and building ancient civilizations – the mechanic of passing the cards and taking one each turn is really simple yet effective and adds more strategy then simply picking from a card stack or other methods of gaining cards
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku. Seven game boards To win with coins and cards Defend your borders
In regard to meaningful games, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily activist or trying to make you think about serious topics, but it does make you think and develop strategies so it could be a little bit of an educational game, learning about the seven wonders and trade and so on.
A Poker Simulator – instead of just digital game or in person, people can play together in a simulation/virtual world of the actual game with players like “logging in” to play
2. Magic Learner – a game of learning magic tricks and gaining points by mastering certain skills – playing it as a simulation allows the player to see the steps in the process of conquering magic tricks in “reality” by lines of direction in what to move and do – I would rank tricks by difficulty and unlock harder packs once you conquer the beginning stages
3. History simulation – your playing through important historical events and they stick with you better by actually experiencing them and being a character in them so that you are faced with the decisions the actual people would have had to make but it’s in game mode and as a simulation
4. A life loop simulation – a game in reality but it simulates the work cycle of working to buy to work to buy, but that doesn’t necessarily become obvious til closer to the end – mechanics would work like everyone gets a job and then needs and the players take action based on what those different roles and needs are
5. I’ve never seen a simulation as an insect – i think it’d be cool in a virtual environment to play as a bug and your trying to survive against humans which are you enemies and the monsters in the simulated environment – you gain points by staying alive the most amount of days.
A game where people roleplay as people with different types of worldviews and backgrounds and interact through a story/gameboard where the decisions they make and how they talk to others is based on who they are playing as – meant to expand peoples visions of other people
A belief swap game – basically a game of friendly argument. Everyone gets dealt belief/argument cards and go in a circle playing them and also playing a “logic” card that people have to defend based on said logic. Winning is based on how many Winning, Valid Points, or Totally Invalid Points cards you can collect throughout the game.
What do you value most – a game about having limited resources and several situations are introduced and each player decides what is most important to them
A game where you are all are working together to do or build something but communication degenerates as the game progresses from free speech, to certain code words, to certain people, gestures, etc. Makes players value speech and communication options.
Changing players minds about consumer culture – You start with a certain amount of money to buy things which help you accomplish tasks that are introduced each round. However, the items degrade unless you invest in ones that last longer, etc. That sort of idea. I’d work out the details
what learning games have you played? can you categorize them by the theory of learning types: behaviorism, constructivism, constructivism or social nature? if you played more than one which was the most effective? I have played a lot of learning games – they might be my favorite type of games actually, especially when it comes to language learning these days – Duolingo, Mango, Busuu, Mavis Beacon (in middle school), kahoot, fact-matching/quizlet sort of things, I also played a lot that I can no longer remember the names of pretty much from pre-school throughout high school- I would say most games were behaviorist in nature; learning through a game-like atmosphere but still focused around the actual learning of material but a little more fun (like what Amy Bruckman was talking about – a few were social nature too I would say – I think behaviorism is the most effective in actually learning material for me at least
is gamification bullshit, what is ian bogost’s argument and do you agree? where have you encountered it outside of class and what was your experience? Ian argues that companies often use “games”, but really just superficial game elements to different products/sights, as marketing strategies and they are really not effective, meaningful , and motivating as games can be. I think I do agree with this logic – I don’t think that every single games has to be this whole thought-out experiential and designed masterpiece, but really stupid or badly designed games shouldn’t be slapped together to gain viewership/sales, etc. I have definitely experienced these sort of “bullshit” games that really aren’t effective and make you more annoyed than engaged. In school, we used to play free games online that were often sponsored or education based and they were mostly super dumb, we played them anyways because of boredom but really they were not really effective or that fun.
What is a serious game and why aren’t they chocolate covered broccoli? Serious games are more than serious topics disguised as fun games (or “chocolate covered broccoli”), they are generally for education, training, or raising awareness rather than simply fun and entertainment. Good serious games integrate the education into the gameplay – if the serious part is disguised users can generally tell, so incorporating it fully makes it more intentional and meaningful and if done well, it won’t taste like chocolate covered broccoli.
What made the experience fun or not? Virtual environments are fun cause we don’t get to play with them very often – I like the collaboration aspect of having to both describe two different things which don’t match but work together to solve a problem
What is the motivating factor to get or keep players playing? To figure out how to not die and blow up – seeing if you can work together well
Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside of the game? I wouldn’t really call it persuasive per say, but it makes you realize how difficult it can be to successfully work together on things
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? the metaphor is diffusing a bomb and working together, the mechanic of both players seeing two different things to accomplish the same goal is intriguing and makes it difficult yet fun
How does the gameplay make you feel? Who does the game make you feel empathy for? It made me feel a little stressed and panicked, but mostly exhilarated to try and be a successful bomb diffuser, it makes me feel empathy for real bomb diffusers
Is the game an activist game? If so what does the game play advocate for? It is not an outright activist game in my opinion, but if it was it advocates for clearer communication and thinking quickly in necessary tense situations
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku. Confusing manual A box with mini puzzles Communicate or die
Also started my podcast game Children of the Sky – I haven’t played it enough to get a feel for it but it’s supposed to be an environmental impact activist game about spreading light and hope to darkness and we will see how that works – it does make me feel nice though
how does mary flanagan’s definition of game differ from chris crawford’s as well as the definition crafted by katie salen and eric zimmerman? Chris Crawford, Salen, and zimmerman talk about games in a very structural, rule based system where people engage in artificial conflict, however, mary flanagan dives deeper in to the context of what games “live” in and the environment they reflect – she argues their artistic, social and activist dialogue, they are “cultural practices embedded in politics, art, and power.”
what is an activist game? an activist game raises awareness about something bigger, whether it’s political, environmental, etc. They critique, model inequality, and purposefully create structural problems for players to experience
Chapter 3
go and chess are examples of games that feature “perfect information”, what other games share that feature? Checkers, Cornhole, Mancala, etc
why might chance or gambling games hold spiritual or religious importance to ancient cultures? Randomness and chance was reflected as the will of gods often times
when was the earliest battle between government/ religious groups and games? what modern games can you think of that have been banned or demonized? gambling and dice games were battled especially – Pokémon was looked down on by a lot of people for a while, as are games with questionable moral and ethical boundaries like GTA- I’ll be honest I don’t know of any games that were straight out banned
what is a fox game, and what would be a modern example? a fox game is where there is one player that has more power or abilities than the rest of the character. Examples of these games include Among Us and Luigi’s Ghost Mansion (amazing game as a kid),
what was the purpose or intent of the game: Mansion of Happiness? To have a game that taught children virtues and the difference between good and bad morals and how to work hard and ethically
Why do artists from the Fluxus and Surealist movements play games? Why did Surrealists believe games might help everyone? The both believed that games take people outside of the here and now; they connect to art and hidden creativity and reject accepted rules of thought and systems of the world – Surrealists believed games would help everyone by freeing your imagination
Changes in what can signal profound changes in games? How were pinball games reskinned during WW2? Lots of different choices can change game: themes, players, materials, rules, representation of power, etc. Pinball games were reskinned with military propaganda and patriotic themes
What statements did Fluxus artists make by reskinning games like monopoly and ping pong? They wanted to question things people accept on a regular basis – exposing systems and asking questions
How are artists like Lilian Ball, Marcel Duchamp, Takako Saito, Yoko Ono, Gabriel Orozco and Ruth Catlowusing war games? they manipulate familiar games to critique power and expose absurdity of conflict
Why is it important for players to have agency in a critical or serious game? Having free choice and the ability to do things makes it a lived experience rather than a lecture – it allows the player to fully experience the message
Impairment: Each player either can’t 1 – see 2 – hear – 3 touch normally 4 – talk and you play a simple game (like Uno or something) and then reflect on the experience and switch “impairments” to feel what they other person goes through
Similar to the above game but specifically finding empathy for people who have a hard time with too many stimuli (autism, adhd, etc) Each player adds or takes away a noise/distraction each turn as well as playing the game and can give or take “relief” from the chaos to understand the need for sensory rooms or quiet spaces
A game that has to do with learning to be empathetic for language differences – I feel like especially in the U.S. people immediately form opinions about people based on their accent/language difference. Creating a game where people have to live in that reality and deal with those differences would be really intriguing – i have ideas like a card game but everyone has different sets of words with part English/part foreign language and they have to play with those differences
Dealing with Grief – card game where players work through people dealing with any sort of sadness – the cards reveal scenarios for each player and each player must give correct responses and learn to interact with grieving people “correctly” and empathetically
Interactive/Physical Game – being understanding towards elderly people is the message the game is meant imply – basically a relay game except players are assigned ages which inhibit how fast or slow they can walk/run/move to the goal and how they interact with other players
What made the experience fun or not? The content was intriguing – I like games with objective responses to fun prompts
What is the motivating factor to get or keep players playing? to see what the new prompts would say and new advice cards would match up to the prompts
what was frustrating about game? Just the rules not being fully developed so we had to assume the rules and make them up as we go
Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside of the game? I wouldn’t say it’s persuasive per say but it makes you think about hard challenges in people’s lives and how to deal with them better or how not to deal with them
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The metaphor is dealing with people’s mental and situational problems – the mechanic of being rewarded for bad advice and then giving good advice to counter it is intriguing
How does the gameplay make you feel? Who does the game make you feel empathy for? There was a lot of the gameplay that we assumed from similar games since the rules weren’t written super clearly so when it is written well it’ll be a smooth gameplay – it let me have fun but also makes me think of real-world situations and how I’d actually deal with them, it makes you feel empathy for the person going through these things
Is the game an activist game? If so what does the game play advocate for? I’d say yes it is an activist game, it’s advocating for people who are struggling with mental health issues or just going through difficult times – it’s helping people know what to do and not to do
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku advice, good or bad help people who struggle others will determine
Star Sailor – Meredith’s game
What made the experience fun or not? it’s succinct and makes sense – a cute idea that is not overly complicated
What is the motivating factor to get or keep players playing? trying to get to the end to win
Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside of the game? If it is persuasive, it is very subtle – i think the metaphor is ethical consumption of resources vs. destroying nature to what extent to survey but it’s space themed so it’s a little abstract
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? ethical consumption of resources vs. destroying nature to what extent to survey but it’s space themed, the mechanic of blowing up planets for resources is intriguing from the metaphors standpoint
How does the gameplay make you feel? Who does the game make you feel empathy for? It was intriguing, it made me want to know what blowing up a planet would do, it didn’t really make me feel empathy just wanting to find out how fast I could run out of resources without blowing up planets
Is the game an activist game? If so what does the game play advocate for? Slightly – I think it was intended to be an activist game about resource management and ethics of destroying the environment to advance
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku. Spaceships through space Fuel is gone planets are gone Trading fuel for food
Objective: To make it back across the starting line together
Materials: 4-6 players 6 age cards (with rules for movement and limitations) 6 dice of different Your body, mind, and creativity
Setup: Each player randomly chooses an age card and a dice Players choose a space to line up (like at a race starting line)
Gameplay: Each movement is determined by individual dice rolls (in front of each person on the floor or any flat space near you) Follow the instructions on you age card to see how many steps you can take. Players all roll dice at the same time but don’t roll again until everyone has moved at least one step.
Continue rolling dice and making movements until you have made it to a determined end point and then turn around and make it back to your starting position. The starting position becomes the finish line.
This is essentially a relay race but with limitations
The catch is you must all cross the finish line together to win
Work together to help slower players and give up your movements so you can all successfully make it across the finishing line
Winning/Losing:
When all the players complete the “relay” together they win
If more than one players cross the finish line before the others, you all lose and the players who went alone can be shamed and booed for leaving their fellows behind
What advergames have you played? Did they influence a purchase outside of the game? I mean i have played tons of games that ARE advertisements for the games themselves and they have never influenced me to get the game – I have also played games like Pepsi Man for other products and no they generally do not influence me
Why do the advergames ”tooth protector” and “escape” work? What makes ”chase the chuckwagon” and “shark bait” fail? According to Bogost, it is how well the game integrates the message of the game into the actual mechanics which make the games run. In the last two games, the gameplay doesn’t have to do with what the product actual is or does so the message falls flat
What does volvo’s “drive for life” accomplish? It forces the player to experience Volvo’s motto – instead of speed like most racing/car games, the game mechanics enforce “driving for life” by enforcing safety, safe speeds and awareness. It makes the player live the motto
What company used in-advergame advertising: Massive Incorporated
What was one of the first home-console advergames and what beverage was it for? Pepsi Invaders – which was for Coca-Cola as a dig at their competitor
What makes “the toilet training” game sophisticated and do you agree? It is “sophisticated” because of the values and management skills that are engrained in the rules of the game – it teaches something and allows users to experience a structured, manageable process of parenthood duties. I think I mostly agree – the subject matter makes it slightly less so but I haven’t actually played the game so I would have to see if Bogost’s justification is correct
What do advergames and anti-advergames have in common, and what principles do they share? Bogost argues they have quite a lot in common actually. Similar mechanics, which are intended for different purposes, but often act similarly. They also both are trying to persuade people to do, or not do, something. This is a key component and biggest principle they follow to say they have things in common
What were the player interactions? There are two players and we alternate turns and can take out each others pieces
How long did it take to learn? Pretty quickly for me since I knew how to play chess already
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Honestly, I never got frustrated it was pretty straightforward for me
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I liked the different dynamics of playing with different rules and having the civilians there, it just gave chess a cool flair
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Maybe have the Bleached team be a little less OP and see what that would do to the gameplay
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Give the Oiled side something a little different (or try to play against someone who does know how to play first)
Is this a game you would play again? Yes, I really liked it and would like to see how it could play out again
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. 1) The setup and first moves 2) moving civilians and starting to get them back safe 3) total destruction begins when civilians start dying and the only way to win is total annihilation
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? All competitive, you’re trying to win and at the beginning not kill civilians but whoever kills one first then the vibe shifts and it’s bloody war
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The metaphor is a crisis of unmatched man power where civilians get caught in the crossfire, the mechanic of the civilian movement was intriguing to me
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku.
Civilians can die Try to save them or you die Kill them at your risk
Observance
Was it fun? Sort of, I don’t like long rules so that was not fun
What were the player interactions? Pretty in depth, asking questions and talking back and forth about stuff
How long did it take to learn? A while
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Trying to remember all the little rules and stuff
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? It’s a neat concept and I like battleship so it had that element of gameplay
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Switch sides faster perhaps, I played as border patrol and didn’t get to play as the Mexicans
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Have a little more energy to fully get into the game, nothing with the game necessarily just when we played it
Is this a game you would play again? Maybe? If i didn’t have to go through all the set up again, but it’s intriguing so I might give it a second chance
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. 1) Set up and hiding the different elements on respective “maps” 2) Asking questions back and forth and rolling the dice and doing our different moves 3) either finding the stuff or not and making it to the U.S. which is winning
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? It’s mostly competitive, trying to be the one to get more immigrants to the U.S.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? Getting immigrants into the US and defending against them coming in, interesting mechanic (which is also sort of a metaphor) would be that winning is depending on how many get in not how many you keep out, which is probably supposed to be part of the thought provoking idea
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku.
People coming in Rolling dice finding location Switching sides to win
