I found it slightly disturbing that when I asked my 22-year-old step daughter, Ashley, for the name of a popular sim game, she told me that her 16-year-old brother plays Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare regularly—in fact, he’s addicted.

Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare is a first person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision.

The story takes place in a fictional near-future, where a radical leader has staged a coup d’état in the Middle East and a Ultranationalist movement has instigated a civil war with Russia.  The events of the conflicts are seen from the perspectives of an American Marine and a British SAS commando and are set in multiple locations.

When I googled it, I found out that it is a critically acclaimed game which scored an aggregate score of 94% from both Game Rankings and Metacritic.  It won numerous awards from gaming websites and it was the top-selling game worldwide for 2007 and had sold 13 million copies by May 2009.

I asked Ashley’s brother why he loves the game so much.  Most of his answer concentrated on the fantasy and challenge aspects of the game.  He said he’s able to play against his friends, who sit behind their own personal computers and he also plays against other people from around the world.

As far as fantasy, he seemed a little too excited about the fact that players use modern warfare weapons including the M4A1 carbine, the M203 grenade launcher, night vision goggles and the MP5SD submachine gun.  The player gains access to these over the course of the game, but can only carry up to two weapons in addition to grenades.  Players also have the ability to call an airstrike and attack a helicopter.

I guess I’m getting old, but even though Call of Duty 4 is a simulation, it’s far too violent for my taste.  I grew up in an age of Pac-Man, Frogger and Dig-Dug and this game is entirely too real for me.

In 2008, my middle school decided to participate in World Math Day. On this one day, students from around the world are challenged to compete against each other in online arithmetic games, while also working together to break the world record for the number of math questions correctly answered. That year, about 1 million students from 150 countries set the world record by correctly answering over 182 million math questions. In 2009, about 2 million students from 200 countries correctly answered over 452 million math questions.

Teachers can sign their students up to participate. Once the students log in, they can create an avatar. For each game, they have 60 seconds to correctly answer as many math questions as they can. For the middle school level, the questions were basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. The students compete in real time against up to three other students (chosen randomly) from around the world. Students can play over and over again. Practice starts about one month before the actual World Math Day.

Mathletics, the creators of this online game, have definitely employed Lepper & Malone’s strategies of interpersonal motivation as follows: Cooperation – students work together to set a new world record. Competition – students compete against each other to see who can answer the most questions correctly. Recognition – the top students and classrooms are recognized on the website’s “Hall of Fame.” There are also prizes (medals, trophies, and certificates) and according to Keller’s ARCS Model, these extrinsic rewards can contribute to a student’s satisfaction.

My students were pretty excited and engaged. I heard them talking about how they competed against a student from India or Australia. My top 7^th grade student answered thousands of math questions. Even lower level students were motivated to play and beat their own personal best score.

Sound like something you can use with your students? Then don’t forget to check out their website starting in February for information on World Math Day 2010!

A friend of mine passed this video along and I thought it could be related to our class! Have a look see (hit your browser’s return button to get back here):

Piano stairs – TheFunTheory.com

Like Shawn I’m a big fan of the electronic games that have come out that are based on a board game we grew up with. One of my favorite examples is Scrabble! I’ve always loved this game and nowadays there are many online alternatives for playing it.

The first online game I found 10 years ago was one called Literati by Yahoo Games.  Same board set up, with your double word squares, and your triple letter squares. You could play with just one other person, or even have games of multiple players going. Each player would play at their own pace and make their move the next time they logged in.  Alternatively, you could join a live game where it was timed and all players played online right then and there.

Another online Scrabble-like game is one of my current favorites: Lexulous! It was once called Scrabbulous, and it is available as a Facebook application.  Not only can you play games with the people in your “friends” list, but other Lexulous users around the world are available to you as well. One of my favorite things to do is play Lexulous Blitz, which is a 4 minute timed game that you play with multiple players in which all players try to put their words down to make the most possible points before those 4 minutes run out. No time to think, just put a word, ANY word down!

A few individual motivators that come into play for Scrabble include those of challenge and uncertain outcome. The goal of the game is to be the one and only winner, meaning you have created the words that garnered you the most points out of all players. Vocabulary skills, and strategy in terms of placement of your words are key here. Also, the fact that the outcome is uncertain provides an even bigger challenge. No matter how awesome you are with vocab, it is the uncertainty of the letters you draw that could cause you to, for example, end up with all vowels or something and then you are up a creek.

Some interpersonal motivators also draw players to play this game, including cooperation, competition, and recognition. In terms of recognition, online versions like Lexulous offer a player and their track record to be published for all to see. If you click on a player’s profile, you can see how many games they have won, what their best word was and how many points it gave them, etc. Sometimes it’s just that recognition motivator that will prompt someone to say hey, I want to play Lexulous today to increase my published word score!

Now if you’ll excuse me I must log into Facebook and make my next Lexulous moves.

For some people gaming consumes hours and hours of their day and there are so many motivational reasons behind this.  For years my motivation has come from a wide variety of areas, like the bitter sweet feeling of knowing you can beat the game, but you have to keep starting over because your character keeps dieing.

I also enjoyed multiplayer games, where everyone works together towards one common goal.  When you, or you and your team, achieve something it is an indescribable combination of stress, excitement and happiness all mixed together.

But just recently I discovered a new type of motivation, which was the feeling I get when I play a game where I know I am somehow contributing to a greater good.  This new type of motivation, this desire to make a difference, moves up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from just “Belonging-Love” and “Self-Esteem” tier, to  the “Self-Actualization” tier because to some this type of activity brings a sense of fulfillment.  (To read a little more about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as it relates to games see The Art of Game Design, by Jesse Schell)

Here are 3 examples of gaming sites that allow you to play a game, while making a difference in the world.

The first example is Free Rice.  Free Rice is a very cool gaming idea.  It allows you to select a variety of subjects to test your knowledge, but the best part is that every time you get a correct answer you donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program.

What makes it fun is that you can select quizzes on geography, foreign languages, math, and English vocabulary to name a few.  I find myself playing this game for hours sometimes just because I am learning new things while I am making a difference!  If you have not had a chance to try this out, I definitely recommend book marking it and when you have some downtime have some fun and help fight hungry!

The 2nd example is the Hope Arcade.  The great thing about the Hope Arcade is that all of your favorite online games like Bookworm, The Game of Life, Scrabble, TextTwist, Bejeweled, etc. – just to name a few are all accessible through this website.  Every time you choose to use this site money is donated to the March of Dimes.  Some games are free to use, others cost money, but if you are going to pay to play anyways you might as well allow your money to go to a great cause.  $.77 of each dollar supports research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives.

The 3rd example is Lil’ Green Patch.  Although this is not technically a normal or traditional game, it’s a Facebook app. but it still falls into my making a difference category!

When you use Lil’ Green Patch you are saving the rainforest one square foot at a time.  Each day that you log into your Lil’ Green Patch and send plants to your friends you save the rain forest.

Part of the game is earning Green Bucks, which can be used to make your Green Patch unique by purchasing  various items like a house or a sign for your own Green Patch.  You can also buy green bucks as well.

The money collected from any personal donations, as well as from the Lil’ Green Patch sponsors, who donate money towards saving the Rainforest every time you use the app. is donated to charity organizations!  Recently a large donation was made to The Nature Conservancy

So far the Lil’ Green Patch community has saved 183,244,167 sq ft of Rainforest!  I have contributed 68 sq ft to this total!

So if you are a busy person who just feels like they do not have the time to sit around and play games, at least consider taking a few minutes to try out some of the games I mentioned here.  At least you get to have a little break from your hectic life, and you can feel better about your actions because you can know that it was time well spent because you made a difference some place some how!

This article in today’s New York Times is a wonderful coda to our session with Jesse Schell. The piece examines emerging independent voices in game design …

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/magazine/15videogames-t.html?emc=eta1

http://www.fishtycoon.com/

Early this year my niece came to visit me, and at the time she was really interested in pets, and fish in particular. At the time of her visit we went to the Aquarium, afterwards she couldn’t stop talking (in great detail) about the various colorful fish we saw. One day while we were out waiting for a table at a local restaurant, (when she was tired and ready to eat on the verge of a meltdown) I pulled out my iphone, and franticly searched for an app that would be suited for her-and I found Fish Tycoon. I unknowingly found an app that would end up pulling me and my boyfriend into it. I hate to admit it, but there were times when one of us was waiting on the other because they had to “feed”, “breed”, or “heal” their fish.

Fish Tycoon is a virtual real time fish breeding game. The object is to breed and cross breed fish until you find the 7 Magic Fish and solve the genetic puzzle-there are a total of 441 fish you can breed. You will have to buy supplies like meds, eggs and special plants and then sell some of your fish in your virtual pet store. If you have enough money you can buy new supplies and customize your virtual aquarium, with scuba and ship statues, even a live seahorse.

The fish are beautiful-have fantastic life-like movements and tendencies but the store leaves something to be desired. The iphone screen is tiny to begin with, and when in the store (viewing from the vantage point of the ceiling) it is just too small. And it looks a bit primitive.

Playing Ricochet

Saturday evening my partner Brad and I came across the Microsoft Store unexpectedly when we were killing some time cruising the mall. It remains the second store in the world, the first in Scottsdale Arizona. When I walked in I was very hesitant because I felt like a traitor to Apple, but after touring the unique displays and playing around with the awesome new technologies my apprehensions evaporated and my visit became an experience.

A team member of the store took the time to tell me more about Project Natal and show me a pre recorded demonstration: Microsoft Store – Mission Viejo – Project Natal Demo

No Strings (or Controllers) Attached. Introducing Project Natal, a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak you and your friends can jump into the fun — the only experience needed is life experience.

Growing up in the error of digital media, I have seen some amazing advancements, but Project Natal is the most innovative interactive media system yet. Project Natal’s sensor tracks player’s full body motion, there is no controller, instead the player uses full body movement to interact. Avatars respond to voice commands, facial expressions and interact with player’s every motion. One can even sync their Natal with another system (in a different location) and players can play together live. Another great function is that Project Natal will connect to any Xbox 360.

Playing Milo and Kate- the player interacts with Milo or Milly, a young child, and their dog Kate, by performing real-life actions

Player may be motivated to participate using the Project Natal system because they will create experiences not available on any other medium or console, involving full body control in a virtual 3D environment, including using one’s voice. There are no control to learn, and your can play the games just by using your body. Games range from full body athletic competitions promoting heath and wellness, in such game as Ricochet, the entire body is used to bounce balls at blocks. Other beta games include a creative and collaborative experiences like the Paint Party, where the player “paints” on a canvas by making throwing motions to splash paint. Player can choose colors using speech recognition, and can pose to make stencils.  Although a release date and price has yet to be released on the system, Natal can hook up to any Xbox 360, giving current Microsoft gaming fans a start-up advantage.

Personally I am not active in the gaming community (I don’t own any system, the last one I have used is Super Nintendo), however, my brief introduction to Project Natal has intrigued my imagination and inspired me to want to join the game when its released.

To see some amazing demonstrations of Project Natal visit Microsoft’s Xbox website.

Just wanted to pass along this webinar info from Classroom 2.0. It might be relevant to groups who are doing the biology oriented games. “Tomorrow (Wednesday, November 18th) the Learning Games Network starts their own webinar series on using games in the classroom as learning tools. This first event, after a broad overview, will look at Caduceus–an online learning game built as part of Children’s Hospital Boston’s “Generation Cures” initiative. Teacher support materials are now available, and can provide a case example for how lesson plans and learning activities can be drawn from gaming. 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT. Event link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/36234 “

GTA has created it's own nice

After browsing through the blogs I found there was no in depth review of the highly popular and controversial video game series: Grand Theft Auto.  GTA has no doubt become every wannabe Bart Simpson/ Eddie Haskell’s dream come true and every parent’s worst nightmare manifested in the form of a cartoon like video game.  I decided to cover this game because I felt that it needed to be discussed, rather than being shoved into a dark closet to be forgotten about by people of a conservative disposition.

The original GTA format

Grand Theft Auto is a video game that revolves around the obvious title; stealing cars.  This simulation game puts the player in the position of a hardened criminal where the objective of the game is to pass all the levels with the highest possible score or money. The player is given various options or missions to complete in order to proceed to the next level of game play.  The majority of the missions revolve around breaking the law to some extent, whether it be street racing, chauffeuring mafia bosses around town, or committing gangland type assassinations.

Grand Theft Auto was originally released as a PC-CD Rom game in 1997 by DMA, now known as Rockstar Games which is based out of Edinburgh, Scotland.  DMA ,aka Direct Mind Access, was started in 1988 by David Jones.  DMA is also responsible for their most popular game LEMMINGS. Yes LEMMINGS!! Which has become one of the most popular early PC games that has sold over 20 million copies on 21 different gaming platforms.  Grand Theft Auto has now become their primary bread winner which now has 10 standalone versions with 3 expansion packs also available.

From GTA Vice City; an obvious play off the hit show Miami Vice

So why is it more popular now than ever?  The original GTA was a “top-down version” where the player has bird’s eye view looking upon a 2 Dimensonal environment similar to other games like The Legend of Zelda on the original Nintendo.  The original version was popular because it was provocative, not because the gameplay was the coolest or cleanest.  Finally in 2001 the first 3D version was released for the Sony Playstation 2 console which was also the top selling video game of 2001.  The 3d version was huge improvement in gameplay and how a player interacts within the environment.  Many of the video games created after GTA 3 were built on virtually the same platform.  GTA3 allows the player to roam freely throughout the environment, do almost anything without affecting the game’s storyline in anyway.  This new and exciting concept is known as Sandbox in video games where structure of the game is open and the player can choose to participate in the story at their own pace.  Sound familiar?  Many of the new titles being released  now use the Sandbox concept and has revolutionized the way video games are now designed.  For me, the Sandbox concept sounds like an instructional designer applied some  asynchronous theory combined with Keller’s ARCS model to this game.

When I first played GTA has college age student, I found myself diving into the character’s role and the addictive movie like storyline which quickly grabbed my thought process.  Attention diverted!  The story echoes that of classic mobster movies like Godfather which made it easier to understand the concept of organized crime. Relevance achieved!  The gameplay starts off with easy missions that lead  into other story line related adventures which encouraged me to keep going in the game.  Confidence check!  After I passed the entire game a list of statistics is given to the player which determines the progress passed and how much the player has yet to achieve.  This enhances the video game because instead of being passed once, the game can be  played over and over with “choose your own adventure” scenarios.  Satisfaction successful!

A live action screen shot from GTA4, the graphics only get better in movie mode

So what does the release of GTA and its multi-million dollar success say about our society?  All it really says is that human nature hasn’t changed much in the last several thousand years.  This video game appeals to the male violent instincts that have continually plagued our civilizations.  Some would say that the release of this game is a social and moral indicator of worse things to come.  This video game is a reflection of what IS ALREADY GOING ON in society not a creation of the crime that devours our streets when most people are home sleeping.  Much of the GTA series is generic rip off of The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Scarface, which are three ULTRA-Violent movies that were released before I was even 5 years old, before I received my first Nintendo (I’m 25 now!).  I wasn’t able to watch those movies as a child because they’re all Rated R and mother knew better than to let me become desensitized at a young age.  Those movies were designed for a specific audience in mind (Males 18-35 years of age) so it should come as no surprise that GTA3 is designed for the same age range as well. Personally, I would NEVER let my children play GTA because I would not buy it for them, a mistake many parents have made due to ignorance and whiners.  GTA is made by adults for adults, not for children!  Parents are responsible for teaching kids morality not the MEDIA.

GTA4 in movie sequence

It’s easy to blame the ills of our society on video games and the media’s undeniable influence.  Have we lost control? or have we as humans (especially Americans) just become negligent and lazy when teaching our children.  Have we left our kids to electronic baby sitting instead of good ol’ Mary Poppins discipline?  I’m not here to push politics onto anyone, but Obama was onto something when he said “parents have to do their job too. We’ve got to turn off the TV set, we’ve got to put away the video game, and we have to tell our children that education is not a passive activity.”

I vote for John Miller’s post on Agricola, the German-based Board game that simulates agronomics. Nice, well-balanced analysis of the game.

We have all heard of the revolution that Wii Fit has had on the retirement community.  The problem is, it really isn’t that impressive.  It seems that most older adults are using it for bowling, if that.  One of the places where I work has 2 games and all these remotes, and it has NEVER been opened.

One of the things of the Wii balance board is the aerobic dance.  I found it challenging and fun to play along on my board.  However, I worried about the potential for falling or incorrect footwork with the older population.  Today I stumbled on a game which is friendly to the older adults and which encourages active participation.

Here is a link to the slideshow presentation.  Maybe this would be an idea for the egame.

To acquire a hobby is one thing. Turning it into an obsession, is another. Since I don’t play them regularly, I have to wonder how some individuals can be so obsessed with video games that take hours of their time online. I question when players voluntarily overcharge their credit card accounts to continue game play, or even risk hackers to do so unknowingly on their behalf.  Although I have heard of the acronym MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing games), you might as well be speaking a foreign language to me. Obviously, something about these games fills a void, which apparently reality does not.

The reality is, MMORPG is an extremely popular form of video game, utilizing online subscriptions to continue game play with other players across the globe. Some interesting facts:

• MMORPG subscriptions totaled over $1.4 billion dollars in 2008.
• The MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW) is estimated to hold 11.5 million subscribers according to Wikipedia. [1]
• According to the WoW website, they define a MMORPG as “an incredibly rich and active environment in which interesting things are constantly taking place. MMORPGs provide thousands of hours of game play, with a nearly infinite variety of goals to achieve across a vast world covering miles of land and sea.” [2]

What do these games provide that allow for such a loyal and lasting following? Here is some of what I’ve learned:

***********************

An Uncommon Wallflower

Like many addicted to social networking, MMORPGs provide a huge range of social interaction. Richard Ryan, a “motivational psychologist” at the University of Rochester has studied video games and concurs with much of what we have learned in class. He points out that many video games satisfy basic psychological needs, and players often continue to play because of rewards, freedom, and a connection with other players [3]. This is evident with some MMORPG players who claim to do better socializing online than off.  Based upon two other informal polls – the Daedulus Project and MMORPG.com – other factors that attract players include teamwork, community, and developing personal relationships (anonymously or not).  [4] A quote taken from a male participant of a research study done by Nicholas Yee reveals,

“To succeed in EQ (Everquest) you need to form relationships with people you can trust. The game does a wonderful job of forcing people in this situation. Real life rarely offers this opportunity as technological advances mean we have little reliance on others and individuals are rarely thrown into life-or-death situations. ” [5]

Considering a MMORPG.com survey identifies the average user as spending 4-8 hours per day playing MMORPGs, it’s difficult for me to  believe that socializing to this degree is better spent behind a computer rather than meeting someone face-to-face. [6] But for others, I guess this works.

Following the Leader

Players of MMORPGs indicated in Yee’s research study that role-playing allowed an opportunity for identity exploration, and testing skills and behaviors. Games become a safe testing ground for actions which otherwise might be too intimidating to replicate in real-life. One participant explains,

“When I play my male characters, other male members of the party will listen to me better, take me more seriously. In my male form I could give orders and have them listened to, where as a female, my characters aren’t always taken quite as seriously. [female, 22].”

This control and recognition becomes very distinctive in MMORPGs.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, when players feel out-of-control or lose their confidence derived from the games, it can prove detrimental, as seen with documented suicides in some Asian countries. [7]

Virtual Ecomonies

A small, yet unique component of MMORPGs are their virtual economies.  I discovered that in China, companies (“workshops”) are formed explicitly to offer virtual commodities of video games, in exchange for real money – an attempt to link them to  “real-world” economies. World of Warcraft has been arguably the largest environment for these exchanges. Chinese gamers, or “gold farmers,” literally play day and night collecting as much Warcraft gold for a customer overseas who pays them to play. Game companies generally frown upon such illegal activity. [8,9] Final Fantasy and Warhammer Online apparently have dedicated departments to deal with removing real money trading in their games. The general consensus by gamers is that this modification of virtual trade destroys games, creates uneven competition, and is ultimately bad for business. However, Second Life and Entropia Universe both link their virtual and real-world economies by using real money in exchange for in-game currency with little debate. [10]

Elf or Wizard?

A final observation I made was the theme many MMORPG players choose. In a MMORPG poll of over 20,000 members, 42% said they’d prefer their games to be of the medieval fantasy genre. Science fiction was a distance 19%, with the remaining percents spread widely across the categories of Anime, Western High Fantasy, Super Hero, Real World War, and others. [11] We know from our studies that fantasy is definitely an attraction of games – the letting go and escaping of reality. Still, with so many diverse games on the market, I thought this was intriguing how so many players would gravitate to this  time period.  One could say that there’s a public affinity for this genre, which carries across from video games to the movies.  As an example, the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter films (comparable counterparts) each hold the title for highest grossing box-office trilogy and highest grossing franchise, respectively.  [12,13] I guess as adults, we might never outgrow childhood play of castles, dragons and knights in shining armor.

**********************

I liken MMORPGs and their players to dedicated Comic-Con attendees. On the outside, the public sees Comic-Con-ers as those crazy costume-clad fanatics drooling in anticipation of the latest movie spoiler. MMORPG game players may be stereotyped as drifty teenagers, or uneducated or unemployed losers. On the contrary, Yee’s study showed 50% of the MMORPG participants had full time jobs. Most were over the age of 25. And most were men or women who viewed it as a cheaper form of entertainment. It seems the stigma of video gamers – particularly those of the role-playing genre –  has quite a while to reinvent itself. In the meantime, if I’m feeling the need stretch my leadership skills, or find an alternative to Facebook, I’m tempted to up the ante and use my credit card.

References:

[1,10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMORPG

[2] http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/splash-battlenet.htm

[3, 7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction

[4] http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001298.php?page=4

[5] Yee, N. (2006). The Psychology of MMORPGs: Emotional Investment, Motivations, Relationship Formation, and Problematic Usage. In R. Schroeder & A. Axelsson (Eds.), Avatars at Work and Play: Collaboration and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments (pp. 187-207). London: Springer-Verlag.

[6, 11] http://www.mmorpg.com/features.cfm/view/polls

[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_farming

[9] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5Yxe6UVv4

[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy

[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_(film_series)#Box_office

Machinarium is a beautiful point-and-click game developed by a team of experienced Czech game developers working at Amanita Design. A free demo version can be downloaded or played online at machinarium.net. The full version is $20, and if you find the demo as engaging as I did, you will consider this a bargain.

You begin the game as a disassembled robot ejected from a foreboding machine city into a vast junkyard. By clicking over various hotspots, and with the help of some limited onscreen tips, you soon figure out how to put yourself back together. You head off to the city where the backstory unfolds. There is a love interest to find, mechanical and cognitive challenges to overcome, and numerous intrinsic rewards to earn along the way.

It is difficult to describe this game without sounding trite. It’s whimsical, quirky, fanciful, original, eccentric, and incredibly charming. You must solve puzzles along the way while you explore Machinarium City, but if any prove too difficult one visual clue is available per scene and other hint options become available as the game unfolds.

The game hits the motivational jackpot. As described by Malone and Lepper*, games need to be intrinsically motivating. Machinarium is thoroughly challenging, strongly appeals to one’s curiosity, places the fate of a cute little robot directly in the player’s hands and mind, and envelops each participant in a beautifully rendered, stylized, and fantastical machine city.

Each puzzle I’ve come across has been solvable and rewarding, but not without a modest investment in time. Players are given feedback by the robot (a shake of the head) if a requested action is not possible. The puzzle or proximal goal associated with each new location introduces the right amount of uncertainty into the gameplay. As you attempt to solve each puzzle you are also reminded of your distal goal through cute visual memories that pop into the robot’s brain and onto your screen. The feedback is clear and immediate. If your idea works you gain entry into the next location, failure means you must rethink and possibly retool.

You quickly become emotionally connected and motivated to help your new friend reach his goal. If you are the type of person that likes to understand how things work, or are a science teacher like myself, this game pulls you in by appealing to your curious nature. I sometimes felt that taking a break from the game was letting my little buddy down.  I’d stare over at the screen and watch him relive his memories of happier times and I’d feel a bit guilty until I returned and got him through to the next location.

Visually, the game strongly connects to your cognitive curiosity. I often found myself thinking that I clearly understood the situation in a particular scene, only to have my first attempt at a solution fail miserably. Players must pause to take in the details within each environment thoroughly before attempting to solve a puzzle too quickly. What seems obvious, may not truly be without close inspection.

Machinarium is an emotionally satisfying and richly involving game that I highly recommend. Also check out an educational game developed by the same designers.

*Malone, T. W., & Lepper, M. R. (1987). Making learning fun: A taxonomic model of intrinsic motivations for learning. In R. E. Snow & M. J. Farr (Eds.), Aptitude, learning, and instruction: III. Conative and affective process analysis (pp. 223-253). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

http://www.redistrictinggame.org/

I play this game with my AP Gov students every year

when we learn about congressional elections and how

every 10 years (after the census) politicians of both

political parties, Democrats and Republicans, redraw the

lines to genuinely reflect their constituencies.  The

controversy is whether they should be drawing the lines.

lines or an independent body.  In California, voters

in the 2008 election decided that a 14 member commission

comprised of Democrats, Republicans, and representatives of neither

party selected from the registered voter pool in a

multilevel process would now draw those lines.  The new

census will begin this January, so it will be interesting to

see what happens in California politics.

In terms of the redistricting game, students will

take the path of a liberal or conservative politician and draw

district lines based on a mission that is selected.  Each

mission (1-5 varies in difficulty, 5 being the most difficult).

Mission 1 = Fundamentals

Mission 2 = Partisan Gerrymander

Mission 3 = Bipartisan Gerrymander

Mission 4 = Voting Rights Act

Mission 5 = Reform

For a history of where the term gerrymander comes from

follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbridge_Gerry

Players will have the ability to simulate the considerations that

politicians must take into consideration when drawing the lines

for their particular districts, e.g. demographics, opposing political

parties, fairness and equality.  Not only will players draw

and have to redraw the map for their district, they will also

have to get feedback from the state legislature, state governor,

and the state courts.  Finally, they will have to submit their

map for approval.  For players, the reason I find this game

“elegant” is because it is fun, funny (esp. when the opposing

side gets angry), visually appealing, and players can actually

simulate the “redistricting” process.

The Exploratorium in San Francisco is a fantastic museum and the website is equally impressive. Sixth graders from my school enjoy a pilgrimage every spring and I prime them for the field trip by sending them to the website every chance I get.  Most of the material on the site would more accurately be described as “activity” rather than “game” … it is all educational and the kids love it! Here is a link to a science how-to … dissect a cow’s eye …

http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/index.html

I visited the G3: Games, Gear & Gadgets National College Tour at UC San Diego a couple days ago and it was an enlightening experience. There were a variety of TV’s hooked up to Nintendo and Wii Fit consoles and students, most of whom did not look like big exercise fans, were running, jumping, dancing, swinging their arms, and most importantly MOVING!

I think that Wii Fit & Sports are a conglomeration of creative games that reach all ages and motivate people through competition, challenge, and fantasy. Older individuals that cannot play tennis like they use to can do so with their virtual reality character. Siblings or families can compete for gold, silver, and bronze. And of course there is challenge with swinging the nunchuck or moving ever so carefully on the balance board.

With 60% of adults, as well as a high percentage of children, who are overweight or obese, this game is a

great resource for individuals looking to get back into exercising or losing weight. In the article, Physiological Responses While Playing Nintendo Wii Sports, the researchers found that playing Wii Boxing and Tennis achieve an “adequate intensity that provides cardiovascular benefits and both games elicit energy expenditure” (Source).

Wii Fit & Sports games engage individuals through a variety of motivational techniques and they help your well-being. What could be better!

Since this will be my last opportunity to express my true feelings about games, I have decided that I have to tell the truth.  {drumroll}  I really don’t like games. There, I said it.  I am just not a game person.  Never have been, never will be.

I have really tried.  I tried because I am taking a class about games, and I think it is important to find something to like about what you are studying.  Also, how could one hope to get an “A” in a class about something you can’t stand? I started the semester thinking, “OK, Deb, now this will be your chance to see what you have been missing all these years.”  First assignment, the ubiquitous “Tell about yourself” posting.  Easy enough – just copy and paste from earlier classes.  Hold on here, “List your 3 favorite games?”  I can’t even think of one, and I am supposed to think of three?

It’s not like I did not have lots of opportunities to play lots of great games.  Growing up, my parents made sure we had a good supply of board games, and they would even sit down to play with us.  I occasionally played card games, mostly when I was babysitting.  In college – and I know I am dating myself here, bigtime – I was aware that people were playing Pac-Man and Pong, but I looked on those kind of people with disdain.  I just could not understand why anyone would want to spend their time that way.   Later, as a mother, I continued the tradition started by my parents and played lots of Chutes & Ladders and Candyland with my children.  It drove me nuts, but I did it, because I knew that the act of sitting down with my children to share an activity was important.  When they could play with each other (without me) I was secretly relieved.

The thing is, I can think of a jillion ways I like to spend my free time, both indoors and out, and they tend to involve literature, art, music, nature, food and friends.  I think if I wound up snowed in, holed up in a cabin with no books, newspapers, magazines, internet, or television, and there was a stack of games, I probably would indeed play them – over sitting there doing absolutely nothing.  So yeah, for me, games are better than doing nothing.  I honestly don’t think there is any hope for me, so please don’t send me a link to a game that you are sure will win me over.  It is a good thing I do not have aspirations in a field where games would be important.

That said, I am a teacher, and I teach kids, and I do recognize that those kids I teach, for the most part, LOVE games.  Especially the electronic variety.  In my class, we utilize several online learning programs that have games as a component.  The beauty of it is, the students have to do a certain amount of work in the “learning” mode before they get a chance to “play” the games.  The game is held out there as the reward, and boy does it work.  It amazes me to see the simplicity of some of the games designed for these programs, yet they work some kind of magic on these kids.  And of course, they are still learning, even though they think of it as playing, and we’re all happy.  So I can say, in all honesty, that I like the games that OTHER PEOPLE PLAY.  Just not me.

A Grade 5-8 Science e-game

Instructions are provided on the web site to guide teachers to use this game.  These include: (1) tips for using the game with students, (2) assessment criteria and discussion questions, (3) different design concepts catering to business people and middle school students, (4) research data supporting the effectiveness of using this game, and (5) standards the game aims to achieve for the students.

At the start of the game, students (individual or in team/group) are introduced to the idea of product design in an interactive and user-friendly interface.  They are guided through a systematic approach: (1) understand the various needs and considerations for designing cell phones for senior citizens, (2) design the cell phone by selecting from a range of parameters, and (3) evaluate the prototype by analyzing from different user perspectives simulated by the computer.  Depending on the outcome of the evaluation, students have the option to proceed to the production phase and market the cell phone or revise their designs.  When the students are ready to mass produce their cell phones, the computer will then simulate the market sales and the strength of their cell phone design will be based on the sales results.  Students can then print out the results and submit to the teacher for evaluation or grading.

Select the different parameters to meet the design goals

I find this game to be a quality class activity. It is meaningful and short enough (10-15 minutes) for the target student group (Grade 5-8) to complete within a standard class period.  Of significance, it exemplifies the the ARCS model in motivating learners:

• Attention:  The game contains colorful graphics and made use of both text and audio to engage both the visual and auditory sensors of the students.  It is suitable for hearing impaired students.
• Relevance:  The topic of interest (cell phone) is familiar to the students and they will find it easy to put the theories into practice.
• Confidence:  The game provides a scaffolding approach to build the knowledge on engineering design.  Students can learn on their own pace and has the control to revise any area they do not understand.
• Satisfaction:  The prototypes students designed are evaluated through a computer simulation and this provides instant feedback on their learning.  Subsequently, the sales report will inform the students whether their designs are marketable or require more work.  Students who understood the design process and cater to the needs of the target audience will then be rewarded with good sales results.

Check out my cell phone and the sales results!  It’s my first attempt and I think it can be better.  Do you think you can achieve a better result?  Start designing your cell phone now =)

Sales results based on my cell phone design

I remember as an elementary and middle school student the game Mad Libs.  Every year I would beg my parents to give me money when the book fair came around so I can buy a bunch of these (they looked like notepads).  Basically, Mad Libs is an educational game that has a focus on English grammar.  Each page has a story where words are left out.  Each word that is left out has a line and one of the  parts of speech (noun, verb, adverb, adjective etc…) listed underneath it.  You fill in the blank space with your own words.  When you would read the story, it would sound very ridiculous and funny.  This is a great game to learn the different parts of speech.  However, I also remember playing Mad Libs in midde school where we would fill in the blanks with inappropriate words.  Technically, we were using the words correctly in a grammatical sense but maybe not so much in an educational sense.  For more information on Mad Libs, go to www.madlibs.com and www.madlibs.org.

While researching games and motivation, I found this interview with James Paul Gee and would like to share it with you. It’s only about 10 minutes long and sums up everything we have been learning about games and education.  Now, can I get my staff to watch it?!

from Flickr user sabrina.dent, Creative Commons, Some Rights Reserved.

So I decided to turn to the 1016 “friends” I have on Facebook to get their input on something I know very little about . . . mostly because I’ve blocked all the notifications about the plethora of games/apps (I am unclear on the difference at this point) that one can opt to waste, er, spend time playing on Facebook.

I received more than sixty comments to my queries about what games/apps people play and why.  Sixteen people actually made a point of responding to say they DON’T play these games at ALL, thankyouverymuch, and their reasons included that it’s a waste of time, they prefer face-to-face interaction, they find them creepy or annoying, and they worry that they’re addictive.

Not surprisingly, my respondents had similar things to say about why they DO play them.

The people who responded to my status-update-of-a-question play such games/apps as: Wordscraper, Fish Wrangler, “Farm & Fish games,” Kidnap, Farmville, Packrat, Café World, Restaurant City, Scramble, Typing Maniac, Yoville, Farkle, Bejeweled Blitz, Battle of the Bands, FarmTown, WordDrop, Lexulous, Pathwords, Island Paradise, Mafia Wars, Reign of Vampires, Castle Age, Happy Horse, and Pet Pupz — just so you know.

Their reasons for playing smacked of both intrinsic and extrinisic motivators: there is a social aspect, they’re competitive, and they exercise the brain.  These same respondents, however, also called the games addictive (at least five different people used this word) and time wasters.  They use them to procrastinate, distract themselves from reality, or to pass the time at work.  (Shh, don’t tell about that one. My friend sent his response in a private message so as to maintain a low profile.)

What became very apparent is that in discussing these games, my friends expressed a great deal of self-awareness.  They knew why they played these games.  They knew what they wanted to get out of them.  Or, at the very least, they may not have known what they were getting into, but they know now to either limit themselves to three games (my unemployed brother on disability knows enough to set limits because of the time these things eat up) or to stop after things start getting ridiculous — or the guilt of their starving virtual pets or wilting virtual crops gets to be too much to bear.

I live far away from all my family and many of my friends, so I could appreciate one recurring theme in the comments I received: these games enable people to share an activity with friends and family who live far away.  They’re already using Facebook to keep in touch, but this provides a way to interact without necessarily having a topic to discuss in writing.

I have a friend who is a sociology grad student, and this friend has a theory: “We are culturally programmed to attain markers of success — car, clothes, conspicuous consumption items. These games are basically a model of this. Work, achieve, display achievement, get praise.”

I found that fascinating, and not at all surprising coming from a sociologist.  Another fun justification was that the games some people play give them a chance to “work out” parts of their brain they don’t ordinarily use every day.  Puzzle-type games, word games, and fast action games were cited as even possibly warding off Alzheimer’s.  We certainly don’t know all there is to know about how the brain works, so I guess anything’s possible.

Finally, a very pragmatic response, which received a few “amen” and “ditto” comments, was that these games are

1. easy to access, without a need for installing anything or buying anything additional

2. where you already are (on Facebook) anyway, providing an additional way to interact with peers, and

3. simple enough to pick up and run with — without having to learn a complex rules system

So, if your peers are impressed by such things, success in these games can bring you recognition and admiration, in addition to providing a way to pass the time, keep oneself sane and cerebrally alert, and satisfy the need for competition.

But I’m in grad school, so I don’t have time for any of that.

The October blog contest is finished, it’s time for your vote. Again, you can’t vote for yourself, and you can only vote one time. Which posts was your favorite and why?

I came across simSchool this summer and believe it is a very useful simulation game for prospective teachers. It could be used both in teacher training programs and by experienced teachers. This is a classroom simulation program funded by the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Teach with Technology program of the U.S. Department of Education.

simSchool is an online simulated classroom experience with students from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of characteristics. The player with the role of a teacher in the game is supposed to make series of instructional decisions and needs to respond to students’ comments and questions. The player should also consider each student’s specific learning style, verbal and behavioral characteristics. In this game, player as a teacher can choose his classroom size (1, 5, or 18 students).  The difficulty level increases by number of students in the classroom. Players can choose the learning environments –urban, suburban or rural. Then they can see the students’ profiles, academic abilities, emotional characteristics and learning style. Students’ behaviors in this game are unpredictable as in the real classroom. So, player as a teacher should understand the students’ problem from his statement or posture and make decisions to help the students in that situation. Free trial (with a group of 5 students) is available on the game site. Also you can purchase this game for $12 yearly. 3000 written student profiles supported by many small performance differences between students and the tasks that teacher designs gives the players a relevant working environment.

If you want to read more about simSchool, visit:

http://innovateonline.info/pdf/vol1_issue6/simSchool_-__The_Game_of_Teaching.pdf

If you want to play simSchool, visit:

http://simschool.org/

I used to play a lot of board games, Risk, chess, checkers, backgammon, and others. I had many friends and acquaintances that enjoyed board games and we got together a few times a week. But, it’s probably been twenty years since I could find the time and the people to play with. Edtec 670 has revived my interest in board games, but I still can’t find the time or the people to play with. So, I thought I’d check out what’s happening online.

I found an online version of Risk almost immediately at GameHouse (http://www.gamehouse.com/online-games/risk-online), and I used to love playing Risk, so I tried that first. I played a short game and quickly remembered why I enjoyed it. The strategy, the flow, the suspense, and excitement of the attacks are all still there even though the other players aren’t.

But, that’s playing against a computer, and I don’t think I can actually call it a board game, unless I play against a person. It seems to me that the real difference between a board game and an electronic game is the interaction with other players.

After looking a little further, I found a game site called It’sYourTurn (http://www.itsyourturn.com/). The list of games is short (http://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gmavail_am) and the website is primitive, but the process of finding partners is very cool.

After you login, you go to AutoMatch (http://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?automatch), select the game you want to play, add a few more details, and submit your request for a game. As soon as partner is found, you receive an email with a link to the game. Click on the link and you’re taken to the game page where you find the game board and other information related to the playing the game.

Playing a game can take a long time, though. After you take your turn, an email is automatically sent to your opponent. Then, you have to wait for an email letting you know it’s your turn again. I’ve been playing a game of checkers (the same game) with an opponent for 5 days now, and we’ve made 8 moves.

Even though you play with a real person on It’sYourTurn, at least I assume it’s a real person, the interaction is minimal.  So I thought, what about Second Life (SL)? I’ve spent a little time in SL and even attended a virtual conference in SL. I like the environment and it is almost like being with real people.

Sure enough, I found several references to board games, although some of them are actually links to gambling site. Among others I found Procyon Games that sells games for use in SL (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Malrif/131/137/28) and the Dream Park for Free Games (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bowstring/153/162/68) , where a few games are free to use. But, there wasn’t anyone else there.

Anybody want to explore playing board games in SL?

There is a really interesting column in the NY Times today about being addicted to word games on the iPhone (and elsewhere) and how games help you “exercise” your brain.

Check it out at: Sorry, I’ve Got to Go Save My Brain

Apples to Apples: The Game of Hilarious Comparisons!

I think this game was designed primarily for the purpose of having fun, however it can actually be quite educational when it comes to thinking “out of the box” (puns not necessarily intended, but I will take any laughs I can get!). The game features about a bazillion different cards (ok, only 1008. But speaking as the graphic designer for our game, which only has about 300 different cards, that’s a lot!) entitled “Red Apple Cards” and “Green Apple Cards.” The red apple cards have the name of a person, place, thing, or event, and the green apple cards have a characteristic of a person, place, thing, or event.  Players get seven of the red apple cards, and they have to decide which of these best compares to the green apple card read by the “judge” (one player who is neutral for that round).  The judge determines the best comparison, and the person who played that red apple card is awarded the green apple card, and players need a certain number of green apple cards to win. The red apple cards also have explanations of the terms on the cards, such as what olive oil is, who Norman Rockwell was, and the green apple cards have synonyms for the characteristics listed on them.

Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal until you actually play the game. People start “lobbying” the judge to pick a particular card, and thus justifying either their own, or perhaps another’s, comparison. A lot of very interesting, albeit rather tangential at times, conversation can ensue. As you can imagine, sometimes the comparisons are a little flimsy, but the lengths people will go to in order to defend theirs begets some really great debate! The game also has variations built in, such as finding a comparison that applies to two things (2 for 1 Apples), finding the opposite of something (Crab Apples), or switching the green and red apple cards and playing the game (Apple Turnovers).

So although it probably wasn’t designed to be an educational game, you can certainly learn a lot; connections you hadn’t heard of or thought of, new ways of putting things, and thinking creatively. Learning or not, my family and I really enjoy this game. I mean, think about these: Taking a bath; salads; rednecks; olive oil; and Norman Rockwell. Which would you associate with the characteristic of “revolutionary?” Try thinking inside the box on that one!

This game was completely unknown to me when I stumbled upon it in another teacher’s classroom at my school site.  The name of it caught my eye so I decided to take a closer look.  A quick Google search rendered some interesting information about the game.  The game was first published in 1955, the number of players is 2-6 (best play being with 4 players) and an age recommendation of 8 years and up.  The game was designed for young people to explore the goals of Fame, Happiness and Money based on decisions they make at the beginning and throughout the duration of the game.  First the players choose their goal; this can be either Fame, Happiness or Money or a combination of two or three.  They are limited by the amount of points they can achieve in each category ( a total of 60), so if they choose all three categories as their goal, the most points a player could achieve in each category would be 20.

 This game has a great overall idea-choosing a goal for your life and experiencing situations and having to make decisions that will ultimately impact you reaching your goal.  The downside is that it’s a little outdated as far as how it looks, at least in all the images I was able to find on the Internet.    It’s very easy to play, with the play being similar to Life and Monopoly. 

An electronic game that has been immensely popular for the last three decades is Mario.  Mario was first introduced as’ Jumpman’ in the 1981 version of Donkey Kong.  In 1985, Mario was brought out of the arcade and into the homes of little children in Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros..  The game itself has sold over 40 million copies and as a franchise, Mario has sold over 400 million copies.

Before Mario, games were generally stationary where as Super Mario Bros. popularized the scrolling screen.  Mario progresses through levels by running from left to right avoiding obstacles along the way.  Kids and adults alike were motivated to play Super Mario Bros. based on this new style of gameplay, multiple characters, and the general story line of Mario saving the Princess.

Motivation for Mario can be explained by the Expectancy theory.  Expectancy theory is a combination of three elements:  valence, instrumentality, and expectancy.  Valence is described by the value of the outcome.  The idea of ‘saving the damsel in distress’ was a value that Americans were seen doing in many movies of the time.  Instrumentality states that there is clear path and you know what to expect.  The goal of avoiding obstacles and overcoming the stage boss is clear.  The last element, expectancy, is described as the ability to complete actions.  Super Mario Bros. is a good game in terms of expectancy because the difficulty starts off easy, with high levels of success, and ends with high difficulty stages that are still achievable.

SET setup

As I mentioned in my September blog, I am a huge, and I mean HUGE, fan of SET.  I was first introduced to it by my uncle when I was about 9.  And, truth be told, I am a natural.  So, since this month we’re suppose to write a post on an educational game, I’ve got only one thing on my mind.  SET!

SET is an educational game for groups of any size.  It requires players to use and develop pattern recognition and logic skills.  A player must also be speedy because the goal of the game is to be the first person to find a “set.”

How do you play?

Here’s how a player makes a “set” according to the official product description:  

The object of the game is to identify “sets” of three cards. Each card is unique in its four features; color – red, green or purple, symbol – diamond, squiggle or oval, shading – solid, striped or open, and number – 1, 2 or 3. A “set” consists of three cards on which each feature is either the same on all of the cards, or different on all of the cards.

Why it works?

SET works because children and adults (6+ years) find entertainment in the same game.  Better yet, children  and adults can play simultaneously!   From my observation, many kids prove to be better at pattern recognition than adults.  On occasion, I bring SET into my tutoring center. It’s one of the few rowdy homework break activities I allow. The students get excited.  Crowds form.  The rules are relatively simple, and the kids teach each other and even their tutors.

Why it doesn’t work?

It’s been known to cause fights!  Player 1: “Who said SET first?” Player 2: “I did!”  Player 3: “No, I did!!”  With a feisty group of players, I recommend someone take on the role of referee.  One person makes the call, and that is that.

Ending note:  Calling all San Diegans. Is anyone down for playing SET with me??

Thought this was a good article to pass along:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02games.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

A quasi-educational game that I enjoy playing is Cranium. I’m not entirely sure that it can be categorized as an educational game though. Originally created in the early 90s, Cranium has become a very popular party game to be enjoyed by teens through adults. 

The game is fun because it employs a number of different types of actions, such as pictionary, general trivia, spelling (although backwards), clay modeling, act out, etc. This offers something for nearly everyone. The game is easy to learn and is seemingly more fun to play with a large group with numerous teams. We have always enjoyed battle of the sexes, where the men at the party play against the women. Gender bragging rights is always good fun. 

I’m not sure how educational the game is, but it does require the players to partake in a number of activities the tap into different intelligences. There’s auditory, visual and kinesthetic activities that players involve themselves with. So as an educational game, I dont’ think that Cranium fits the bill, but as a game to show of individual intelligences, Cranium is fantastic.

As far as game play goes, the game can be a bit choppy. The game board is an average, race to the end type of board. There are two different paths one can take. That depends on whether a team gets a question correct at the right time.

In all, I like the game. If played a lot, there may be a need to get an updated set of cards since the number of cards in the original box are limited. It is quite fun to be played with a group of people in teams in a social setting.

In the break room at my office there’s a little kitchen. A fridge, couple of microwaves, toasters, vending machines, sink…pretty much what you’d expect.  But there’s also a secret stash of board games in one of the cupboards. Believe it or not, a board-gaming club of sorts has evolved, meeting a few times every week at lunch when the mood strikes after Lean Cuisines and ham sandwiches are quickly consumed.

First it was Mexican Train (a dominoes variation), then it was Rummikub. Favorite games were chosen in streaks, then we’d get bored and search the cupboard for something different.  One day, my friend Deb asks “Do we have Scrabble?”  Everyone groans, “It’s boring! It takes too long!”  “No!” she says, “I know a different way to play that’s really fun!” We’re skeptical, but we trust her, Deb knows what’s fun. Sure enough, we became addicted. Now, it’s rare that we play anything else.

What is this different way to play Scrabble that’s actually fun and addictive? Deb called it Speed Scrabble (not to be confused with playing regular Scrabble with a timer).

Here’s how you play:

1. Leave the board and the little tile-shelves in the box.
2. Turn all the tiles upside down in the center of the table.
3. Each player takes 7 tiles.
4. Someone says “go!” and each player flips their tiles right-side-up and begins trying to create their own little crossword puzzle in front of them with their 7 tiles.
5. When someone first incorporates all 7 tiles into a crossword pattern, they yell “pull” and everyone has to take one more tile.
6. At anytime, players can rework their crossword patterns, they are not stuck with their original arrangement.
7. This continues until there are no more tiles in the middle, and the first person using all their tiles wins the round. Or, if you feel like doing a little math, the player with the most points at this point wins (points in crossword minus points not used). We never feel like doing the math!
8. Depending on how many players, rounds can last from 5 to 20 minutes.

How is this more fun than Scrabble?

This game offers all the same educational benefits as Scrabble, but it is more fast-paced and fun.  Each player is very focused on building words as quickly as possible, feeling the pressure as other players force them draw more tiles.  As the tiles in the middle dwindle, the frantic pace of the game increases even more. Because the rounds are short, there is plenty of opportunity for losers to win on another round. This keeps the game light and engaging for children and adults. After doing a little research I found that there are actually a few marketed versions of this game out there. Two similar versions created in the 90’s – Pick Two! and Take Two, and one created in 2006 called Bananagrams. By the way, this is a great illustration of how games are routinely copied or reinvented.

Click to see video of family playing Speed Scrabble

Click to see video of family playing regular Scrabble

I thought it was interesting that game designers and game players have created other versions of Scrabble. In fact, there is an entire page on Wikipedia on Scrabble Variants. Let’s face it, Scrabble is a great classic game, but perhaps is not always the most fun game in the world. Check out these two videos of families playing standard Scrabble versus this modified version.

What we can learn from alternate rules…

Looking at each of the variants of Scrabble outlined on Wikipedia might serve as a great resource for us as we work on modifying our game designs to increase the fun factor.  What other games can you think of that seem to have multiple variations?  Think about a time when you played a common game with another family or group of friends, and they played it differently then you.  Was it better? Why?

iPhone and iPod touch users, rejoice! An official version of Settlers of Catan has been released on the App Store. Since this game has been mentioned a lot in class this semester, and since it’s one of my favorite board games, I thought it would be worth posting to the blog. I’ve finally found another great board game for my iPhone, and it looks like LUX DLX (aka Risk) will finally be able to rest for a while. You can purchase the game for $4.99 here.

I hated this game when I was a teenager and babysat two little preschoolers – they loved to play it and it never seemed to end. The goal of the game is to advance along the path on the board by spinning for a number on your turn. You advance as many spaces as indicated and if you land on a “good deed” like helping to sweep up a mess you can climb up the ladder to advance several more spaces. However, you may also land on a “bad deed”, like eating too much candy, and you fall down a chute to several spaces behind. I remember it would take us about an hour to play and it felt like an eternity.

Now in looking back as an educator it is a great game for its audience – preschoolers (ages 3-6). They learn to take turns as well as recognize and understand the value of basic numbers. The biggest challenge is to get the preschooler to sit still long enough to play!

Backgammon board ready for play.

Backgammon is a game of skill and luck for all ages.  The object of backgammon is for a player to move all his pieces into his homeboard and then to move them off the board.  Players use dice cups to role their dice and then move their pieces according to the two numbers rolled.

The origins of backgammon can be traced back to the Persian Empire, approximately 5,000 years ago, but the modern version of the game first appeared in France in the 11th century.  The popularity of backgammon surged in the 1960’s due to Prince Alexis Obolensky the “Father of Modern Backgammon.”

Backgammon has endured the test of time because anyone can learn the rules in a few minutes, but it takes years of practice and study to become an expert.  A good player will take into account the position of all his pieces on the board, possible opportunities, possible threats, the race to get every piece home, and of course, the skill of his opponent.  A good player will also be skilled in the use of probability how that determines the best position of pieces on the board.

In case you can’t tell, backgammon is one of my favorite games.  My dad and I used to play when I was little and I still play frequently with friends.  The best parts about the game are the competition and strategy.  Pitting your wits against your opponents and hoping for a little luck at the same time.  The gameboard is very simple and usually folds and latches so it can be carried like a briefcase.  There’s something very ‘classy’ about the leather, felt, and dice cups that make it aesthetically pleasing and set it apart from other board games.  If you’ve never played, would like to play again after a long time, or play all the time, GammonEmpire.com has a free download and live online games.

The game Careers, was first introduced to me circa 1979.  Careers is a game where the players control their own victory conditions by setting up a formula for success in the areas of Fame, Happiness, Money, or a combination of all three. The objective was to accumulate a total number of points earned in all three (3) categories equaling 60. All paths have some prerequisite for entry, and benefits accrue from going through any of the paths more than once.  Within different occupations, the players were given the opportunity to earn points in those occupations.  For example, getting a raise in the job = Money points, starring in a movie role = fame points, while “Going to Sea” is good for happiness. The winner is the player who gets to their formula goal first.  The game has a fantasy feel to it by allowing the players an opportunity to immerse themselves in different career tasks as they move around the board.  I highly recommend playing this game with young kids.  Careers provides the opportunity for some good discussion amongst the players regarding the variety of regarding career choices and the intricacies that surround a particular type of job. A specific memory that I have while playing the game of Careers as a youngster, involved landing on a ‘Teacher Career’ space and words on the space read, “Increase tenure” were introduced to me for the first time.  Didn’t even think I would become a teacher way back when.

D&D Starter Set

While researching options for our board game design, I purchased the starter kit for Dungeons & Dragons, the classic role-playing board game.  We had planned to use this game as one of the models for our own game.When I opened the box, it initially seemed quite simple.  There were some basic grid tiles, some special tiles that look like stage props:  a lever,  a pool of blood, and a pit or “hole” on one side with a bear rug on the reverse side.  These were all simply crafted from cardboard, along with a set of small round tokens that function as player character and non-player character markers (PCs and NPCs).

What seemed initially to be very simple soon revealed itself to be amazingly complex and imaginative. There were no less than six different types of multi-faceted dice.  The starter set comes with a dungeon master’s guide that outlines some rules that can become very complex.  There are larger Dungeon Master books and an entire book for monsters and NPCs that you can also purchase.

The really cool thing about D&D is that it’s not just one game.  There is a community of players who write their own adventures, and “dungeon masters” from all over the world contribute their open-source adventure scripts to other players.  From very basic board and props, players can construct a multitude of fantasy scenarios.

One drawback to this game is that it requires a very skilled Dungeon Master (DM) to run the game, and this individual sets up the game, guides players’ progress, narrates the story, referees, decides scores, and also plays the part of NPCs.  Another drawback is it would take quite an investment of time and energy to become proficient at this game.   While this is sold as a “starter set,” it’s not just for beginners!

“Go” is an ancient Asian board game. It is frequently compared with
chess, as it is played with black and white stones, and each player
can make one move at a time. Unlike chess, however, all the black and
white stones are identical. Also the stones are placed on the
intersections, not in the center, of the small squares on the boards.
There are 19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines forming 361
intersections. The rules are very simple. A player can just place one
stone on the board at a time. He cannot move or remove any of the
existing stones on the board. If he can surround a group of the
opponent’s stones, he captures them, counting one point for each
captured stone. At the end of the game, both players have established
their territories. Counting the intersections inside one’s territory
and the captured stones yields the winner of the game.

In “Go”, players from different levels can play against each other
using a handicap system. I think the handicap system can also be quite
useful in a board game for ESL learners, such as in our project. In
some groups, we may have students with different levels of English
skills. Engaging such a group in the same game, where they can advance
by demonstrating their English skills, can be challenging without a
handicap system. As an example for implementation of the handicap in
our ESL board game, an advanced learner would need to answer more
difficult questions, whereas a beginner could start the game with
better skills such as speed, health, etc (our ESL board game uses some
of the RPG concepts). In our game for ESL learners, it is also better
to have simple rules, as in “Go”. Ideally, the students should be able
to start the game only after 5-10 minutes of learning about the rules.
Simple rules do not make a game dull, if there are a lot of variations
according to how the players choose to play the game. Tic Tac Toe is
not fun for adults, as we have limited choices to make a move. In
“Go”, on the other hand, there are 361 intersections to place a stone,
leading to endless variations of the game. To make our board game more
interesting, the students should also have lots of possible options to
make a move as in “Go”. You can find more information here;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(game)

Who’s the game for:

Ages twelve and up.

Content:

Based on the content and characters from the Arabian Nights.

How it’s played:

Players choose a character that is paralleled from the story such as Sinbad, or Aladdin. The game board itself is a geographical representation of the area covered in the book which is around the Arabian Peninsula and nearby coastal areas of the Mediterranean. The players begin by pulling a card from the deck of quests and receive a certain quest to fulfill. They each take turns in succession traveling along various paths and resting on specific locations on the board.  On their turns, they draw from a deck of encounter cards where they interact with various NPC’s (Non Player Characters) such as a slave or genie, or elephant, or are told to go to a specific location and have another kind of encounter. The different and interesting thing from other adventure games is that the players use two matrices when in an encounter to direct the outcome and direction of the story: one action and the other reaction .  A “Book of Tales” is also involved which is made up of 2002 different story variations that are all coordinated with which encounter card the player has drawn, and which specific location they are on the board. The players will then gain or loose wealth, skills, health, experience and attempt to fulfill their quest.

Critique

I think this is one of those games where you have to be willing to do the initial learning curve for the rules and then it becomes fun. However, if you are someone who doesn’t want to do a lot of reading then it would not be fun. There seems to be a lot of thorough design in creating variants of story outcomes and an intricately designed web of interactions between the player and NPC’s. This allows for the game to be played many times and not have the same things happen to you. The fun in the game seems to be choosing an option when pulling the encounter cards (choosing to beat a slave you meet, or befriend him, steal from him, etc.) and just enjoy how the story unfolds. People who would want more control over their player’s moves and direction would probably not enjoy this game.

The problem I had with this assignment is that I am familiar with very few games, and even fewer educational ones. I tapped into the experiences of my family for this one, and was able to explore some kid’s games for the purpose of the blog. Kids learn by repetition, so most of the games were very simple and repetitive. This particular game, however, has multiple variations possible and seems to be a good product to last more years than the other games, due to its dynamic nature.

This is a simple game targeted to pre-schoolers, teaching Hebrew character recognition. The players draw cards and move their pawn to the corresponding space on the board. When a color card is drawn, the player moves to the next square of that color. When a letter card is drawn, the player moves to that letter no matter where he currently is on the board. Letter cards can thus move a player forward or backward. The target audience is age 3 and up; the players don’t need any knowledge to play. But knowing the names of the Hebrew letters on the board can enhance the education value of the game.

The game is good in that it teaches counting, matching, color recognition, letter recognition, and beginning reading skills to young children. It is also good in that a number of modifications can make the game more interesting and challenging for older players. For example, players might be required to say a word beginning with the character they land on, or name an object (in Hebrew) that is the color of the square they land on. The game can be applied to any foreign language, or even to English reading and language skills.

Graphically, the board is well designed with age-appropriate bright, primary colors. It is content appropriate with images consistent with Jewish culture, and items consistent with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet that are shown on the board.

Target age: 6-12 years old

Objective: to deduce the identity of your opponent’s “mystery person”

Gameplay:

-Choose a “mystery person” for your opponent to identify

- Ask “yes” or “no” questions to narrow the pool of possibilities

- Win by being first to eliminate all of the “wrong faces”

Content:

“Guess Who?” introduces young children to deductive logic.  The 48 face cards share common features, forming sub-groups.  Over time, players identify these sub-groups and discover faster and faster paths to eliminating all of the “wrong faces.”

Critique:

The essential experience (using deductive logic) is captured well.  There is a very clear problem to solve (guess “who”), with hidden problems along the way (identifying sub-groups, formulating strategic questions and asking them in the best order).

Aesthetically, the game appeals to children, with cartoon faces and bright colors.  There is physical pleasure as well – during game play, “wrong faces” are eliminated by flipping them down, providing “tactile joy” for a young child.  (Unfortunately, the game itself is very cheaply manufactured.  It is flimsy and falls apart easily.  The physical experience that heightens the pleasure of the game can result in breaking the game!)

“Guess Who?” is an innovative game that provides a simple model of our complex world (where deductive logic is an extremely useful tool).  The game is well-tailored to provide young children with an opportunity for sustained focus, pleasure, and enjoyment, all the while preparing them for challenges they will face in the real world.

Its about time!  

For far too long, the amateur ornithologist has been given the cold shoulder by the board game industry. They’ve been ignored and dismissed.  The everyday bird watcher has had nowhere to turn for good, wholesome, bird related gaming.  But not anymore!  At last, The Great North American Bird Watching Game has birders young and old alike chirping with joy!

Never heard of it?  This game description from amazon.com sums it up nicely:

Birders everywhere, it’s time to drop your binoculars and focus on a game that is sure to soar. The Great North American Bird Watching Trivia Game is the ultimate birding trivia game designed for those who want to test their knowledge on North American birds.

Who is the game for?

According to an advertisement, this game is made for the (supposedly) 64 million birdwatchers in the United States (Really? 1 out of every 5 people in this country is a bird watcher?).

Not sure how they calculated those numbers, but regardless, with over 2,000 questions in three levels of difficulty – beginner, intermediate, and expert – this game is suitable for bird watchers of all skills levels.

Content

Topics covered in the game, as you might expect, include habitats, mannerisms, field marks, diets, nomenclature, and more.

Gameplay

The gameplay is quite simple.  Players move around the board 1 space at a time, answering a question on each turn.  If the player answers the question correctly, the turn continues, and a new question is asked.  Players continue moving 1 space at a time, answering questions until a wrong answer is given.  The first player to make it around the entire board is the winner

Critique

Now, I’m not exactly sure what it was up against, but I should start by pointing out that The Great North American Bird Watching Trivia Game DID won a 2003 Product of the Year Award from Informal Education Products after being chosen by consumers as a superior educational product.

Am I really going to  argue with the Informal Education Products Award Committee?

Well, yes, I am.  I’m actually inclined to think the award has more to do with the game’s unique subject matter and niche market than its revolutionary gameplay.  Nothing about the actual game design suggests a particularly creative or interesting gaming experience – it really is as simple as answering questions off a card and moving along a linear path, 1 square at a time.

On the other hand, I guess if I’m looking to test my knowledge of birds in a competitive fashion, its not like I have many other choices to pick from.  That’s got to be worth something.

Citadels is a card game by Bruno Faidutti that revolves around competing cities. The game requires 2-7 players, recommended ages 10 and up.
The ultimate goal of Citadels is to build 8 districts within your city, and for them to be the most valuable.

citaels

The Components
•    There are 66 district cards that are nicely illustrated showing different locations in a city such as manors, cathedrals, taverns, and observatories. There’s a set of coin pictures running down the left side of the card showing the cost/value of the card (between 1-6).  These cards are also distinguished by color (yellow: noble, blue: religious, green: trade, red: military, and purple: special).
•    The 18 character cards are each labeled with a name like Assassin, Bishop, Magician, Warlord, etc. 7 of the cards are associated with special types of city cards and are marked with the corresponding color.
•    The gold coins are used to buy character and district cards
•    The crown and base are used to distinguish who is the “king” that round.
•    Victory point markers are used to help mark special conditions when players count up their cards at the end of the game.
•    Character markers are used to help everyone remember what characters are in the game.

The Game
Each player starts the game with 4 district cards and 2 gold coins. A player is chosen to be the king for the first round. The 8 character cards are shuffled and given to the king.

Basically, each round, players choose characters and take character turns.  The current king randomly places one of the character cards face-down. He then randomly places between zero and two character cards (depending on number of players) face up, leaving him with one more character card than the number of players in his hand. Then the king selects a character card of his choice, and the cards are passed clockwise around the table with each player choosing a character card. In the end the last player selects one of the final two cards and places the other facedown on the table. The end result is that each player has had some choice over the “special power” he gets to use during the current round, and in addition each player has some knowledge of what characters other players are using (but not total knowledge).

Taking Character Turns: After character selection is done, each player then gets to take his turn in the current round. This is done in the order of the character cards, so the player with the assassin goes first, the thief goes second, etc. At least a couple of characters will be out of play every round, and thus skipped.

Actions During a Turn. Each turn each player may decide to collect two new gold coins or else take two district cards and keep the best of the two. Then, he/she may build up to one district (by paying the appropriate number of gold coins).

Each player also gets to use his/her character power sometime during his turn. So the assassin might collect a couple of cards, play a new district, and then kill some other character, the exact fate of which isn’t revealed until that character’s turn. The bishop might collect some gold, then collect some more gold for his blue districts, then build something expensive.

Ending a Round: Eventually after the warlord (#8) has gone, the character cards are all recovered, shuffled, and a new round begins. The new king (#4) gets to begin card selection in the new round.

Ending the Game: The game ends at the end of a round when someone builds their 8th district. Everyone then counts up the value of all their districts and adds any bonuses

Why this Game Works
Competitive:
This is a very competitive game because players are trying to build up their districts and gold reserves faster than the other players.  Sometimes, if there is one player that is doing particularly well, other players will team up against that player to keep them from gaining more districts and gold.

Mysterious:
You don’t know what cards the other players have, but you can attempt to calculate and guess. This adds an element of excitement and mystery.

Easy:
It’s not terribly difficult to learn and catch on. After watching a round or two of your friends play, a person of average intelligence should be able to pick the game right up.

Complexity:
The intricate descriptions of characters and districts are complex and vivid, often appealing to a sophisticated audience much along the lines of “Risk” or “The Settlers of Catan.”

Portability:
This game and all its pieces fit into a very small travel-size box. It’s very easy to pick up and go with this game to a friend’s house.

Critique of Design
Citadels is a very fun game to play and is designed really well. Regarding the sheer number of different cards, district cards and character cards, a small “cheat sheet” with these names listed would be very helpful for reference by the king.

Board Game Contents

I wanted to find a game that had nothing to do with mathematics.  I simply googled “educational board games” and leisurely looked through the descriptions, contents, graphics and rules of over a dozen games.  The one that grabbed me the most was the game entitled, “Passport to Culture”.  The learning experience in the game is centered around obscure and, in some cases, bizarre patterns of behavior people have around the world.

The objective of the game is to correctly answer fact-based multiple choice questions that cover a variety of actions people from different countries do.  One description according to http://www.educationallearninggames.com says, “Challenge your CQ (Cultural Intelligence TM) with fascinating, fun-filled questions about people, places food and drink, world treasures, greetings and gestures, or customs and traditions.”  Coming from someone who does not ever travel but would like to, I thought this would be a very inexpensive way to discover different ways people live in other continents.

While it was the objective of the game that initially grabbed me, I started to analyze the rules of the game.  Part of our design process with the board game project in EDTEC 670 has been  to refine the rules.  I looked through how this game wrote out how to play the game.  They were clear, specific and short.  Most importantly I felt that I would be able to successfully play after reading for only five minutes.  Not only did I find the wording of the rules useful, I also liked the list of alternate ways one could play the game.  I had not yet thought of adding that feature to my game and would like to incorporate it in a similar fashion.

As for the design, the board promotes movement around a map of the globe.  It is colorful and eye-catching.  One of my favorite contents  within the game is the passport.  Even as a child I liked fictitious replicas of real-life items like a drivers license or a birth certificate.  Not only do players get a passport, they also have to add stamps to the passport to represent countries where they have correctly uncovered the culture topic.

I am obsessed with this game. I turn this game into a Charade game because I think it is more fun when you have adults act out different things/condition. Pictionary is a game where two or more teams compete to draw on papers at the same time as their teammates tried to be the first to guess the correct answer. When the card is NOT “All Play,” only one team will come up with the answer before the sand stopper runs out. The categories to draw are “all play,” “difficult,” “action,” person/place/animal,” “object” and they range from easy to difficult. You don’t need to be an artist but you need to know your audience and be able to communicate without talking while being under pressure.

Contents in the box:
Gameboard, one minute sand stopper, die, 324 cards (includes 4 category cards), 4 pencils, 4 playing pieces, 4 pads of paper, card holder and instructions.

Click here to learn more about Pictionary.

Here’s a picture of my fiance acting out as a “swan.” His team won.

Rail Baron is a game I played in college and I bought it for my family later when my kids were big enough to play it as well.  The game play is similar to Monopoly: your goal is to own a network of rail lines to use to make trips across the country (gameboard).  Each player starts at a home city and rolls to find the next destination city.  The player rolls dice to travel along rail lines to that city.  Traveling on a rail line that you don’t own costs you a “usage fee.” Each trip earns you money that you can use to save or buy another railroad.  The winner is the first to make $200,000 dollars and get to their home city.  The successful player acquires railroads that can link together so that they can travel on rail lines that they own and so not pay travel fees on someone elses line and also collect fees from other players.

A few things make the game special.  First, the rail lines you can buy are all historic from the late 19th century.  I found this realism very engaging.  Also there is a luck component in where you must travel.  This means you may end up in places like Pocatello or Portland, Me. where only one rail line goes (and if you don’t own it you pay big).  Also the requirement of having to get back home at the end of the game adds excitement as any other player who can “catch” your train results in a fine and losing the chance to win for a few turns.

From a design perspective, this game works because of the competition between players, the multiple paths to success and the element of luck which can allow an inexperienced player to beat experienced players just from good rolls.  Also, because of the luck element and multiple pathways the replayability of the game is high.  However, because of the cut-throat competition, and the uniqueness of the content, this game can turn off some people.  Usually if you like Monopoly, you will like this game as it is similar but has much faster gameplay and doesn’t drag on like Monopoly can.

So I was looking for a game that was fun and educational and I stumbled upon the game PayDay.  Who doesn’t want to go through the end of the month and have money leftover (especially in these economic times). 

So what you do is simply go through the month and get paid and pay your bills.  No…it is really not that simple.  You have mail that you collect which may include a bill, a postcard, or Moneygrams (someone needs money from you).  Get extra income by winning the lottery, selling a business, win a radio contest, or even a sweepstake.  Maybe you have the opportunity to go into business for yourself, but you may need a loan to get started.  You can get a loan and go completely into debt. 

This sounds like an awesome game in which you can really see how the real world works, by borrowing money to get ahead or find out that it was a poor decision in the process.  It seems apporpriate with these economic times to teach the concept of good economic decisions and not to be too far in debt at any one time.

The game however needs to be updated.  I do not know of too many people who get Moneygrams anymore, or win sweepstakes.  I think it would be great if there were more Internet based items on the gameboard to make it more like the 21st Century.  Although the principles are still the same in the economy.

The recent event of the stock market spinning out of control wasn’t fun, and many experienced huge losses.  However Donald and Betty Lee Deitch, who were in that precarious boat that ended up sinking, decided to shed light on the situation by creating an environment that would allow people to experience the Wall Street game without losing a penny.

The Wall Street Spin®, the first game in a series of FunSpin™ board games, was developed to accomplish just that.  The game is suitable for adult players and provides a satirical atmosphere of fun and challenge.  However several testimonials note that it’s a great way for parents to introduce their children to the realm of money and the stock market, helping to bridge the generation gap.  It also provides a parallel between something that in reality is a sore subject, taking those aspects and turning them into educational entertainment.  Although it won’t win me real money {and I won’t lose real money either, unless I play it in Vegas } it has peaked my interest enough that I will probably buy it to play!  Here’s the scoop:

• Simulates ups and downs of the market, without complex math.
• Can affect all players even when it’s not your turn, which keeps players interested in the game.
• Encourages social and negotiation skills in players.
• Fun way to learn stock terms. Hostile Takeover allows you to take another player’s stock at 1/2 price, and change the game’s dynamics. This makes the game more exciting.
• “Play” the market without risk! Novices gain confidence, while experts enjoy this Game of Strategy.
• Great as party or travel game.
• The game packaging is quite appealing, with a chic carrying case and patented spinner.  An Oscar-winning animation director collaborated with designers to coin quirky stock names.

Here’s how to play:

Set out the game board with the spinner in the middle.  Break apart 24 color stock certificates.  It’s fun, because this game has varying prices. “Play” the market without risk!

1. The object of the game is to get as much stocks and cash in 1 hr. or set time.  The player who has the most is the winner!  Set out money, cards.  Begin at “Market Opens.”

Strategy: Try to get 3 stocks in a color group, it pays more dividends.  When you own all 3 stocks, you can buy a Blue chip marker for $4k, which increases the values of all stocks in that group!  You can buy or sell with other players for 2 mins. before your turn.

2. When you land on an unowned stock, you can buy it.  If you land on someone else’s

stock, you have to pay Dividends to the owner.  The amount you pay depends on what you spin again, for example, 300 X spin (1) = $300.  Or 300 X spin (8) = $2,400!  Ouch.

3. The spinner has 3 functions:  1) Move tokens without dice.  2)  Blue Chip Spin refers to the 8 stocks in the middle. 3)  Market Spin refers to the navy blue edge, which could be good and bad spins, that affect you or all players, such as “Market Boom.” (Please refer to Rules booklet for specific instances).

4. Bull/Bear news cards bring good or bad news.  Players don’t need to know stock terms to play, just collect from the Broker, or pay penalties into the Windfall profits corner.

The best card is “Hostile Takeover” when you can force sale of a stock at ½ price!

5. Whoever lands on Windfall Profits collects $$ from the penalties!  Fortunes can quickly change.  Broker puts in $1,000 each time
after it’s collected.  Broker also gives players $1,000 when they pass “Market Opens.”

To learn more, visit http://www.funspin.com/index.html

“While conceiving our baby, “Master of Disaster” Game (which is yet to land in this beautiful world), I went ahead to feed myself with ideas from this game called Ludo, which I still remember playing with my family and siblings almost fourteen years ago. Although this game is different from the game that we are developing, but the rules and contents of it have fortified my imagination for our game to some extent.”

The Game:

Ludo/ Pachisi – as a game was depicted in the 6^th century in the famous Ajanta Caves in India, played initially by the Mughal Emperors. Variations of the game made it to England during the British Rule in 1896 and gained popularity in large parts of Europe. Derived from Latin word ludo means “I Play”! It is popular in many countries as Ludi (Caribbean), Parchis (Spain), Le Jeu de Dada or Petits Chevaux (France), Non t’arrabbiare (Italy), Fia med knuff (Sweden), Parqués (Colombia), Mensch ärgere dich nicht (Germany) and Mens-erger-je-niet (The Netherlands). The historical evidence of the game makes it interestingly good!

Who the Game is for?
- Players: 2 – 4
- Age Range: 4 Years and up
- Setup time – 5 minutes
- Playing time – 30 min

What Content its Covering?
- Wooden board
- 1 die
- 16 painted wooden pawns (4 pawns per player, colored in blue, red, yellow and green)
- Instructions

How it is played?

1. Each player starts with four pawns in the nests. The players take turns to throw the die in clockwise direction.
2. A player must throw a six to launch a single pawn. A throw of six is also rewarded with an extra turn. If a player throws 3 consecutive sixes, the player will be penalized and the sixes will be discarded.
3. To launch a pawn (after a six); the pawn needs to be placed at a position marked by a star.
   4. The objective is to move all the pawns inside the “Home” in the center of the board (before the opponents). To do that, a pawn has to complete almost a full revolution.
   5. If after completing a revolution a player miss the way home no mercy will be shown, and will have to complete one more revolution.
   6. During the play if a pawn lands on the opponent’s counter, that will knock off the opponent’s pawn and send it back to its nest.
   7. A bonus throw will be awarded for the player who knocks off. However, this rule doesn’t apply if the opponent’s counter is on a star marked place.
   8. If a player forms a double by landing one pawn on another, opponents’ single counters cannot jump over the double. To get past the double they must first land on it. Also landing a single on a double will not knock the doubles off to nest.
   9. If a player’s double lands on the opponents’ double, they knock off both the pawns at one go (unless they happen to be on a star marked cell).
   10. Whoever takes all 4 pieces to the “Home” first is the winner.
   

Critique/Evaluation on Game Design:

The interestingly good part of the game is its classy tradition and the various design and form in which this game has been adopted over the years in different countries of the world.  The game-play features along with bonus moves and lucky doublets make the game unpredictable and it culminates in a thrilling race to the finish every time one plays it. On a negative note, this game lacks high strategy but this act as a bonus to younger children who would love to play the game. Overall this game is suited as a family or children game.

To know more about the rules, contents etc, please visit this link.
To buy this game, please visit this link.