Harvest – the board game test run

A big Thank You! to:

David, Ann (Chunyu), Jeff, Ezra and Sara for your enthusiasm, constructive criticism, and thoughtful suggestions.

 

Yesterday was the first trial of my board game. Four friends and my partner (all well versed in board games) generously took part (although I did ply them with food and wine).

I began by explaining the motivation for the game, a bit about bioprospecting, what I hoped to achieve in general and, most importantly, what would be the most valuable for me (critical assessment, trouble-shooting, suggestions). Almost immediately, it became clear that, although the objective of the game was clear, the rules of play and advanced progression were not.

The overall object of the game is to accrue 1000 bio-points by drawing bio point cards directly, drawing finance cards which can buy bio-points, avoiding or encouraging disasters, forming alliances to increase holdings/defend against attacks/etc. and through chance (roll of dice). The dice determined movement by players (advancing around the board) as well as the factor of multiplication for drawn cards (i.e. draw a bio points card, multiply by the sum of the roll to get the number of points gained).

 

We began to play

• We rolled the dice to see who goes first 
• We selected ID cards – these are characters which have their own alignments/agendas. These identities will determine the motivations of the players.
• The idea is to allow the players to create narratives and make alliances based on their identities. I wanted the range to be broad and interesting with surprises. Some working options include

 

Bio Organisms (that are being bioprospected)

Octopus Yew Tree berries Cone snail Scorpion Anemone

 

• Native/local site

Local healer Fisher people Mangrove Elephant Macaque

•  

Pharmaceutical corporation, Biotech company, government, Bank

Merck Ely Lilly Smartox US China India Switzerland Goldman Sachs World Bank

•  

Scientists, Academic Institutions, Activists, Afrofuturist, Revolutionary

Einstein Goodall Care (Indai-based sustainable environmentalists) Zapatista Subcomandante Marcos The Guerrilla Girls Octavia Butler

•  

• The response to the quirky selection in the framework of the game/subject and the aspect of self-authored narratives was positive.
• We began play by rolling the dice and moving our markers around the board (I used stand-ins, I will eventually make some). Landing on a colored square corresponded to a particular category of action/event. If one lands on a colored square that player rolls the dice again to quantify the action

 

Green square = bio organism points

blue = gains orange = losses dice rolled to determine # (sum of dice x 10)

 

Red square = gains and losses including disasters

	financial
	world event, accident, or severe weather

 

Orange square = action card

create an action block an action lawsuit coalition building/breaking disaster relief attack

   

Blue Square = safe from disasters

 

Feedback:

• However, as we moved around the board and began to draw cards/play/apply the action to our characters, it was clear that what was needed was more clarity in regards to the characters.
• We stopped play and began to discuss what could improve this.
  • character cards that listed traits and agendas as well as potential actions and narratives
  • clearer parameters of coalition pros/cons and abilities
  • rounds of play, based on sequencing, with a leveling up of goals and possibilities in which limited elements and actions are available. Additionally, an outlining of the more fantastical possibilities (such as a Cone snail-Mosquito coalition in which the Mosquitos infect the pharmaceutical lab tech with malaria or the Afrofuturist and elephants build a cyborg octopus to protect the local population) can be offered in some form.
  • the board was not necessary as this is really a card-based game

I plan on revising this week.