Game Design
Tell students that for this project they will be making tabletop board games. Explain that you have chosen this particular type of game because they contain all of the game elements you’ve studied but are also easy to make without any special tools.
Introduce students to the concept of a racing game in which players compete to reach a specific goal before anyone else, or before a timer runs out. This goal could be:
- Reaching a particular point on the board
- Collecting a certain number of points or items
- Discarding a certain number of items
Ask students if any of the games they played, or any games they are familiar with, are racing games.
Make sure they understand that to be a racing game, the racing element has to be the main goal.
For instance, in the game Forbidden Island, the players race together to collect all the treasures before the island sinks, so it is a racing game.
But while players race each other to collect properties in the game Monopoly, you win by being the only player not to go bankrupt. The racing element helps you win, but is not how you win.
Have students access the student chapter Game Design and go through the instructions with the class, highlighting the “Yes Yeses” and “No Nos” of the design.
Note: These “Yes Yeses” and “No Nos” are taken from the Instant Expert video. If you prefer, you can use this tool to establish your own “Yes Yeses” and “No Nos”: