"THE GAME IS AFOOT..."
Creativity Game Project
3-5 teams/players
FYI
Egyptian pharaohs included a board game in their tombs to instruct them in the afterlife.
Mark Twain invented a board game similar to Trivial Pursuit. He called it Mark Twain's Memory-Builder.
Object: Design a board game that will engage your players in an enlightening experience that will teach about your topic while at the same time having some fun!
NOTE:
1) Your game must not infringe on any other game's copyright. That's tantamount to plagiarism on this assignment. (Ask yourself whether you would get sued if you put your game on the market! See detailed discussion below.)
2) P rocrastination and lack of communication will drastically reduce your earning power on this assignment since these two problems are the primary source of frustration and resentment by productive group members.
The Rules:
·
Your game will cover a specific topic or general humanitiies information to be agreed upon by the group members.
· You should include material covered in the book together with outside research related to the topic covered by your group.
· Your game will be played and evaluated by the entire class.
·
Play time should last for roughly 30-40 minutes start to finish.
· Be sure that your rules specify how the winner will be determined and Plan B for how the winner will be determined if time runs out before the end goal is reached.
·
Your game board and game pieces should be created by group members rather than simply purchased or borrowed from an existing game.
·
Game rules should be original, instructive, and easy to follow.
·
You should provide a copy of the rules for each team playing the game.
·
Although you may incorporate audio visual
material and electronic aspects into the game, the game itself cannot be
purely electronic.
· At least one week before the game project is due, your group should
- have completed the game
- begin to practice playing the game with the goal of weeding out or revising questions that seem too vague or are unclear
- focus on clarifying the rules and tying up loose ends
- polish the finished product for play on game day
-
play it several times to be sure that it adheres to the time limit and that you have gathered ample questions
Grading:
· All players on the winning team will be awarded 5 bonus points on the creative project assignment or 1 extra credit point added to the final course grade (you decide) .
·
The aesthetic quality and originality of your game and how
well its form and content mirror the material you’re covering will be important
aspects when figuring your grade.
- The creativity and clarity of your rules and questions as well as the aesthetic quality of your game board and game pieces will be key factors in determining your grade.
- If
you simply mimic another game you’re familiar with (or if you simply
literally combine a couple of other games without changing them in significant ways), you will NOT earn a passing grade on this project
since uniqueness and creativity are key elements of the assignment. In other words, you are expected to create something new and different.
- As Cranium demonstrated, it is perfectly fine to combine various elements from different games to form a unique creation, just as long as it doen't mimic too closely another game already in existence. (The general rule of thumb is that you must change the original idea 30% or more for it to be considered an original idea.)
- For instance, imagine a game of charades where you're allowed to make sound effects but not use words.
- Or, picture a game of "Harrison Bergeron" Pictionary (conceived by my daughter) where in the first round everyone draws with their dominant hand, and whoever wins that round has to draw the next round with the other hand and then one foot and then another and then the mouth.
·
You will earn an individual grade on the project as well as a group grade on the project, and the two will be averaged together for your game project grade.
·
Before the class period immediately following
your game, you must each email me (via Blackboard) a
confidential group evaluation.
·
After playing each game, players, as teams, will
participate in the evaluation process by critiquing the game in terms of the following:
- what
you liked most about the game,
- what
you liked least about the game,
- what
you would suggest to improve the game,
- how
well the rules were outlined/articulated,
- how much
fun it was,
- how
interesting you found the questions
- the
aesthetic quality of the game board and pieces
- creativity,
innovation, and originality
What to do about slackers and control freaks: It is the responsibility of each member of the group to participate in the project, and if members are not pulling their weight or are taking over the project, it is the responsibility of the group to resolve problems that arise. Differences of opinion and in commitment to the project naturally arise during collaborative efforts; however, it is the group's collective responsibility to live up to responsibilities, hold one another accountable, and cooperate to resolve problems and conflicts. So, if someone in your group is being a control
freak or a slacker, don't come to me to fix the problem. Instead, have a group meeting to discuss and resolve the problem amongst yourselves.
If the problem continues, send the problem person/people an email explaining the problem,
and if s/he fails to respond or continues to cause problems, take the "Survivor" approach and vote
them off of your island. If you are
deemed a control freak or slacker by your group and get voted off, you have the
option of either taking a zero on the assignment or completing the individual creative project.
Creativity, Play, and Gaming:
- Here's a creative thinking exercise to spark your creativity and to illustrate the power of fusing ideas to create something original.
- And here's another creative thinking site: creativethink.com
- Here are some TED lectures to inspire you to create something innovative: