Author: bozobear

On Campus Games

Campus Scavenger Hunt

In this activity, student teams explore the campus to uncover hidden items or complete various tasks. Each team receives a series of clues or riddles leading them to different campus locations. At each stop, players either discover an item or solve a puzzle to unlock the next clue. The event encourages exploration, teamwork, and problem-solving, with opportunities for bonus challenges such as taking selfies with notable landmarks. The first team to finish all tasks and return to the starting point claims victory. This activity can be tailored to various themes, enhancing familiarity with campus history, culture, or sports.

Mystery Night

Students dive into a live-action role-playing game, unraveling mysteries through clues and character interactions. Participants are assigned roles and backstories entwined with the central mystery. They must gather and exchange information by interacting with each other and following clues scattered around the campus. With potential plot twists and secret alliances, the game culminates in players presenting their solutions to reveal the true outcome. This immersive experience, complete with costumes and props, enhances social interaction and critical thinking, adaptable to genres like detective noir or supernatural mysteries.

Campus Capture the Flag

Teams compete in capturing the opponent’s flag while safeguarding their own, with the campus divided into territories for each team. Players strategically place and defend their flags, aiming to capture the rival team’s flag. Opponents can be tagged and temporarily removed from play or sent to a designated “jail.” The game incorporates safe zones and power-ups to add excitement. It promotes physical activity, strategic planning, teamwork, and communication, with flexibility for different participant numbers.

Academic Adventure Quest

This event involves educational challenges across various academic departments, with players earning points and rewards. Each department offers a mini-game or challenge related to its field, such as a chemistry puzzle or history quiz. Teams select challenges based on interests and strengths, accumulating points based on difficulty and performance. The team with the highest score wins prizes. This quest fosters interdisciplinary learning and networking with faculty and peers, suitable for integration into campus events like open days or orientation weeks.

Augmented Reality Campus Tour

Participants embark on an interactive tour using augmented reality (AR) to blend educational content with gaming elements. Through a mobile app, players enjoy a self-guided tour enriched with AR overlays at specific landmarks, offering historical insights, fun facts, or mini-games. Collecting virtual badges or tokens enhances the experience. This tour, ideal for prospective students, visitors, or alumni, combines technology with education and entertainment, offering a dynamic way to explore campus history and culture.

Card Game Ideas

Muffin Madness

In this game, players strive to bake the most delicious muffins by collecting ingredient cards. Starting with base cards for different muffin types, players draw and trade ingredient cards to complete recipes. Special action cards add twists, such as sabotaging opponents or duplicating successful recipes. The game concludes when a player bakes a set number of muffins, with points awarded for recipe complexity. Muffin Madness fosters strategic thinking and player interaction, wrapped in a fun theme for all ages.

Card Kingdoms

Players build and defend kingdoms by managing resources and battling rivals. Drawing cards for resources like gold and soldiers, players expand territories, fortify defenses, or attack others. Special event cards introduce unpredictability, enhancing strategy and negotiation. The winner is the last kingdom standing or the one with the most points from expansion. This game blends strategy and resource management, offering adaptable complexity levels.

Fortune’s Favor

Players compete to accumulate wealth by making strategic investments and navigating market changes. Investment cards represent sectors like technology or real estate, affected by central market cards with events like booms or crashes. Players decide when to buy, sell, or hold for maximum returns. The game ends after a set number of rounds, with the wealthiest player winning. Fortune’s Favor teaches basic economics and investing concepts, encouraging risk management and decision-making.

Galactic Traders

As space traders, players aim to amass wealth by trading goods across planets. Each turn involves traveling to planets with unique trade offers, while event cards introduce challenges like space pirates. The player with the most wealth from savvy trades wins. This game combines science fiction with trading mechanics, encouraging strategic planning and adaptability in a rich narrative environment.

Detective Chronicles

Players solve mysteries by gathering clues and piecing together evidence. With clue cards representing evidence and event cards introducing new leads, players draw cards, interview characters, and share theories. The game concludes when a player deduces the culprit and motive. Detective Chronicles enhances deductive reasoning and critical thinking, offering cooperative or competitive modes in various mystery genres.

Rodent Round-up

Players act as rodent catchers, capturing rodents by strategically placing traps. With trap cards of various attributes, players decide where to place traps, move, or use action cards against opponents. Rodent cards with trap preferences are drawn and placed, and event cards add challenges. The game ends after a set number of rounds, with the most captures determining the winner. Rodent Round-up combines strategy, luck, and interaction with educational elements and a humorous theme.

Munchkin Gloom – Play test

Was it fun?

Yes, munchkin gloom was a fun game to play.

What were the player interactions?

Player interactions occurred with event cards and turns in which players place positive “self esteem” cards as well as cards that modify the actions of the turns

How long did it take to learn?

It took about one turn to learn all the rules, establish a flow, and get a little bit of fluidity to the game play. 

What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?

The most frustrating part of gloom was probably the stacking mechanic at first. It is a cool functionality once you’re into the gameplay but to start it can be a little confusing and cumbersome.

What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?

My favorite aspect was the competition as well as the ability to interrupt gameplay with the event cards.

Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?

I wanted to be able to play untimely death cards on the second turn, a rule that made sense for the gameplay but was irritating at times nonetheless.

If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be?

I would add a card stand for the crew cards to make it a bit more organized as well as to add to the games build and design quality.

Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why

Yes, I would play gloom again, I enjoyed the negative scores as well as the refreshing change from the average point system. Once I was used to it, the stacking mechanic was cool as well. 

Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.

The “Kobold Guide to the Three-Act Structure” offers a compelling framework for understanding narrative flow, which can be intriguingly applied to the game Flux. This structure divides a story into three parts: setup, confrontation, and resolution. In the context of Flux, the setup involves establishing the game’s ever-changing rules and objectives, introducing players to its dynamic nature. The confrontation occurs as players navigate these shifting conditions, strategizing how to best adapt and outmaneuver their opponents. Finally, the resolution comes when a player successfully aligns their hand with the current winning condition, bringing the game’s unpredictable journey to a close. This structure enhances the chaotic yet strategic essence of Flux, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and foresight in achieving victory.

Sushi Go – Play test

Was it fun?

Yes, Sushi Go was a fun game to play.

What were the player interactions?

Play interaction were kept to a minimum with the added mechanic of swapping decks to the left after each turn during a round. 

How long did it take to learn?

It took about two rounds for me to learn the game mechanics as well as to establish a play flow.

What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?

The most frustrating aspect of the game sushi go was the chopstick cards, that I didn’t understand, I felt like they were trying to add a cool mechanic that could have been done a little better or cleaner. 

What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?

I liked that I won Sushi Go, it was the first game that I won so far in class. I enjoyed the ability to stack wasabi cards with sashimis to get more points.

Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?

This game did in fact make me hungry so be prepared to want to snack during this game where you play in three rounds as a three course meal.

If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the 

More rounds.

Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why

Yes, this game had excellent playability and 

Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.

The first act is the setup, making the parties, explains the rules and establishing what I call the “flow” of the gameplay. The first couple of turns are usually used to establish this feel and the first act. The second act of sushi go, is the meat of the gameplay, where players start to get competitive. Some strategy is involved as players try to build the best meal worth the most points. The game being played in three rounds as a three course meal even lends itself well to three act structure with the game having a clear beginning middle and ending. 

Mario Wonder – Play test

Was it fun?

Yes, Mario wonder is a fun game to play.

What were the player interactions?

Players interacted with the game through classic platforming mechanics, utilizing character movements like jumping, stomping, and power-ups to navigate vibrant levels.

How long did it take to learn?

It took about 15-20 minutes to become familiar with the controls and game mechanics, thanks to intuitive design and gradual difficulty increase.

What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?

The most frustrating moment was occasionally misjudging jumps due to unexpected enemy placements, leading to unnecessary restarts. (Womp womp)

What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?

The favorite aspect was discovering hidden areas and secrets that rewarded exploration and creativity, making the levels feel dynamic and alive. Discovering secrets in levels also increases replayability.

Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?

I wanted more diverse power-ups that could alter gameplay mechanics significantly but found the existing options somewhat limited. While the bubble, drill, and elephant are all cool powerups, I wish they would have added something dynamic like toadette. 

If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the 

With a magic wand, I would add a cooperative multiplayer mode to enhance the social experience and introduce new strategies for challenges.

Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why

Yes, I would play again because of the engaging level design and the joy of discovering new secrets each time.

Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.

Mario platform games carry unique structure which is part of the reason that I wanted to analyze the game in the first place. The setup is crucial with bowsers minions and goons, you’re slowly introduced to them simultaneously with power-ups to help the user get a feel for the game structure. The middle or climax is when the player finds the wonder flower and gets to the secret or whacky part of the level. The conclusion is obviously the flag or castle at the end that the player is trying to ultimately reach. With checkpoints at the midway and secrets hidden along the path the pacing of the levels is usually ideal.

1

The game introduces the player to the whimsical world of Mario Wonder, setting the stage with a simple objective: traverse the levels and defeat Bowser’s minions. The initial levels serve as tutorials, gradually introducing gameplay mechanics and power-ups.

2

Challenges escalate as the player encounters diverse environments and increasingly complex levels. Obstacles and enemies become more difficult, demanding skillful navigation and strategic use of abilities. The tension builds as the player progresses closer to the final confrontation.

3

The climax occurs in the final levels, where the player faces a series of challenging bosses and intricate platforming sequences. Successfully overcoming these hurdles leads to a satisfying conclusion, with the player rescuing the kingdom and restoring peace, offering a sense of accomplishment and closure.