2. Board Game
Firsttaste of educational game design
Technically simple
Conceptually harder than it looks
Deliverables: playable prototype and
design document
3. Why Board Games?
Familiar medium
Easily stored
Self-contained
Face to face interaction
Capable of a range of learning outcomes
from simple factual recall to the
understanding of complex systems
Great place to begin
7. Types of Board Games
Linear Movement or
Race Games
Pieces move along a
path (e.g. Monopoly,
Candy Land)
2-D Pattern Games
Object is to build
patterns of pieces (e.g.
Go, Othello, Scrabble)
8. Types of Board Games
Battlefield
Pieces attack other
pieces, removing them
from the board (e.g.,
Chess, Risk)
Combination
Games which combine
elements of the other 3
categories (e.g.
Backgammon)
11. In Search of Elegance
Elegance= congruity between the forms
of the game and structures within the
content, such as...
Movement through space, time
Shortcuts
Obstacles
Patterns of elements
Prizes, trophies, treasures
12. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Movement through space or
time
Getting a Masters degree
Stages of digestion
Evolution
The process of impeachment
Game: paths in a race game
15. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Shortcuts
Marrying into money
Mutation
Scientific breakthrough
Finding the “smoking gun”
Game: jumping along or between paths
in a race game
16.
17. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Obstacles
Insufficient money or other resources
Not enough votes
Mountains or deserts to cross
Lack of data
Game:
blockage in paths in a race
game or the absence of a path
18.
19.
20. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Patterns of Elements as Goal
Balanced meals
Balanced life
Electoral College votes
Game:acquisition of cards or tokens in
particular combinations
21. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Elements with different levels
of power
Superintendent vs Principal vs. teacher
Large countries vs small
Microsoft vs just about anyone else
Game:
use of game pieces that can
move more flexibly or that can
overcome other pieces
26. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Elements with different levels
of value
Rare coins vs common ones
Real estate in La Jolla vs. somewhere else
Gold vs silver vs bronze medals
Game:tokens or play money to allow
the acquisition of these elements or to
use as scorekeeping devices
28. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Choices and Decisions
Go on to college, or get a job?
Attack the Nazis now, or wait?
Buy Qualcomm or Apple stock?
Game:branches in the path of a race
game, or strategies for deploying
pieces or tokens.
29. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Variations in Risk
Buying futures options vs. stocks
Running an attack ad against your opponent
Quitting your job to start a small business
Game:parallel paths with more penalty
squares on the shorter path, or chance
cards in different stacks depending on
risk.
30.
31. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content: Changing Environment
The stock market turns from bullish to bearish
After the revolution, those closest to the king
are now most in danger
Drastic climate change bodes ill for reptiles
Game:changing the rules or structures
during the game.
32. Example Content+Game
Structures
Content:Random or Uncontrolled
Events
Weather
Prices of raw materials
Other people’s behavior
Game: dice, spinners, or chance cards
36. Board Game Design Phases
Do Front End Work
Draft a Preliminary Design
Produce Prototype
Conduct Field Trials
Revise as Needed
Publish, Disseminate and/or Use