Students Blog

The Loofa Mafia is:
Shon-Ting Fu
Tomer Mor-Barak
Lara Durant
Daniel Andersen
Peter Van Dyke

I. High Concept

The Mango Club is the cool place to be. You can find most of the cool people there. At the Mango Club you can just chill and do whatever and totally relax. "Take it easy" is the Mango Club motto, for example, that's how laid back it is there. Show up if you want to have a good time. Another good reason to show up is if you want to hang out with friends.

II. Overview

The Mango Club is an invite-only club that is only accessible to players that pass 4 tests. If you’re in the club, you’re cooler than those who are not in the club.
The game is laid out in the form of three floors of an ancient castle, with an average of 1.33 games per floor. The first two games are on the first level, and an entire floor is dedicated to the final two tests. The tests, while they do not necessarily increase in difficulty, all test for different things. Each one is clever, but must be solved a different way.

The progression through the tests is linear: upon completion of the first test one would advance to the second and so on. As mentioned before the tests do not necessarily increase in difficulty, they are just designed separately and with a different goal in mind.

Each test has a GM, the team member who designed the puzzle. The game begins upon player entrance into the puzzle and ends when the GM determines that the game has been completed. The GM will then assist the players in progressing to the next puzzle.

Upon completion of the final puzzle players are taken up to the Club, which is located high in the atmosphere above the testing castle.

III. Design Overview

The concept for the Mango Club was designed in the beginning as a tier-based system that allowed players to differentiate themselves. This originated from the concept of “coolness” that we stumbled upon early in the project. Essentially, we wanted to create a system that would create conflict based on the difficulty of the puzzles we presented players, and from that point would separate players out based on how quickly they completed the puzzles (or if they did at all).

In the beginning of our design process, we were going to have competition-based play. It seemed logical to have one test for all players, and simply take the most apt player to the club. After some consideration (and a little prodding), we decided to take a different approach to The Mango Club, and make it more co-op based than competition based. In this light, it seemed much more reasonable to have multiple tests, but have players work together on them.

Because we wanted to have more than one test, it seemed easiest to assign group members to different projects within The Mango Club. This allowed us to work around our individual time restraints and complete what we needed to more efficiently. Each player was given a level (two for the first level), and told to try and keep it cooperation-based. The tests were also designed with a minimum of 3 players in mind.

After we were all finished designing the puzzles, we created the teleportation links and solidified the transition between them. Then it was on to playtesting and iterating our designs.

IV. Puzzle Details

Game 1:

The first part of the puzzle is a simple word- and color-based puzzle where players are introduced into the mango club in a relaxing and convenient fashion. A particle helm is given to each of the participants as an entry gift and clue to the advancement of the mango club examination.

Clues are hidden in this room full of greens and relaxing instruments to be seated. To advance to the next level, players are required to determine the connection between the message hints from the sitting instrument and the color flashing from the particle helms.

The three “chairs” will each hint a message, each being “Up in the mountains where the grass is green and trees are alive,” “The ocean reflects the color of the sky,” “Mangos and candy corn in a Halloween night.” While the first one matches with the green particle helm, the second hint matches with the blue particle helm, and finally the third matches with the red particle helm. Once the three players sit down on the according seats, the passage to the second level will open.

Pictures:

Game 2:

The broad goal of the puzzle is to get players to communicate with each other to figure out this word based puzzle given the limited amount of clues. Upon entering the area, players are greeted with a pumpkin that says pure nonsense but hides a clue in the nonsense. Players then discover the area to understand what needs to be done.
The puzzle itself contains 6 pumpkins, a piece of fireworks, and the King pumpkin. The fireworks are needed to destroy a wall impeding the player’s progress through to the club. The players can only use the fireworks if they have helped the king pumpkin. The King pumpkin asks for the players to help the other pumpkins in the maze and gives the clue saying that the pumpkins speak in riddles. The players then need to figure out the riddle.

Each pumpkin hides a direction in its name. “We Eat Some Toenails” would be WEST if you took the first letter of every word. The other pumpkins say similar phrases that spell out other directions. After each pumpkin is turned in the direction they hide in their phrases, the King pumpkin will help them fire the rocket that will clear the path to the next puzzle.

Pictures:

Game 3:

This part of the puzzle is a representation of the game “rock-paper-scissors.” We use “red-green-blue” as the three elements instead.

Two players are chosen to compete in the first round. The winner of the first round advances to the final round, going up against the third player. Finally, the winner of the final round is given the choice of advancing to the next level as a individual champion or with the other players.

This puzzle is designed to test the “coolness” of the individual or the group as a whole. When it comes to the final round, we’ve created an illusion where players might think the examination is going towards a competing direction. However, the actual intention was to test the spirit and the trust within the group.

Pictures:

Game 4:

The final game in the Mango Club test series was designed to be scalable for one up to as many players could comfortably be in the house at the same time (probably around 8). This ties into the previous test, which allows a player to advance alone or with others – Game 4 will be significantly easier with more than one player participating.

The game itself is a clue-based puzzle game. Players are presented with no information except that they must discover the puzzle and solve it. They are not told what the puzzle is or what to do within it; all they can do is touch objects throughout the house to give them a better and better idea of what they are supposed to do. There are many clues, and players only really need to uncover 75-80% of them to complete the puzzle. Some players are much better at this type of puzzle than others, so the more people you have on your team the better chance you will have of finding someone who is well-versed in it and the more quickly you will uncover all of the clues.

To complete the game, players must take copies (or buy for zero lindens) five different colored cylinders and place them on a bench upstairs in the correct order. This is more or less difficult depending on the players involved, but generally the game required 8-20 minutes to complete. We never had an issue where players were not able to complete the game.

Pictures:

V. Play Test Report

Playtesting Overview:

Impressions of our game were generally favorable. The tests didn’t take very long, people were kept busy and were interested in their surroundings. The fact that we had more than one game within the overall system was positive – players enjoyed the changing atmosphere and overlooked how they were related to each other (apart from the particle helm). People really enjoyed the differences between the different games – there seemed to be an appeal for each person in the group depending on which game they had reached. In most cases there would be specific players that would enjoy the entire set of 4 games, but would enjoy one much more than the others. We felt this was positive, as it allowed each player to have a great time without any expense to the others playing. We were unable to include the club because of prim restrictions, but player reactions to seeing it were positive.

Game 1:

There were several more formidable elements that players enjoyed in the first game. The particle helm was of specific mention, as players seemed to react quite well and even feel special when they received them. The entry room was comfortable, relaxing, and not too cluttered. Most players were able to pick up the clues quickly and pass through the level before the atmosphere became boring.

Positives:
1. The particle helms helped players to immediately recognize their teammates, and gave them a sense of importance.
2. The room was simple and relaxing, allowing the players not to be overwhelmed in the first stage.

Negatives:
1. The color-coded hints from the chairs sometimes don’t immediately register to the players that they need to sit down.

Improvements:
1. Another hint or two relating the use of particle helm and the sit down triggers.

Game 2:
Overall, players found the game to be interesting, especially once they figured out that the pumpkins gave them directions. The time it took to figure that out varied. From what I could tell, the more the group communicated, the sooner this realization occurred. The nice part is that no group that tested the game ever asked about the direction puzzle. The only problem is that players did not know what to do with the directions once they figured them out. The players also enjoyed discovering the king pumpkin.

Positives:
1. The puzzle aspect (determining that the pumpkins give directions when they speak) was not too difficult to figure out.
2. Players usually discussed the puzzle making the game social.

Negatives:
1. Players for the most part could not figure out that the pumpkins need to be rotated to solve the puzzle.

Improvements:
1. To remedy the direction issue where players know the direction but not what to do with it, I will have the pumpkins rotate 90 degrees or give specific instructions telling players the pumpkins can be rotated.

Game 3:
For my part of the game, I decided to make a rock-paper-scissors game. Despite its simple design, I believe it was a success. Through the various amounts of play testing, I have revised the design from a more complex one to a simple one.

Positives:
Most of the testers so far have been relieved to find a nice simple game in the middle of the more difficult puzzles they have faced elsewhere. It can provide a more relaxing time.

Negatives:
Some player suggestions to the game have been to possibly add some more complexity to the basic RGB game. There is a chance that the mechanic might be a little bit too simple and not challenging enough. I'm not sure exactly sure how I might go about this, but I may consider adding more options to pick from and make the game based on a two out of three match. It isn't very clear yet, however.

Improvements:
The original game that I had designed resembled a game of musical chairs. I had the layout set up so that players would run around the designated chairs. However, I soon came to the realization that running around actively isn't a good idea in Second Life. After a few small play tests, the basic design was completely revamped.

The game is now set up so that players enter a room and proceed to one of the private rock paper scissor rooms. Players will read instructions from the main bulletin board and learn that the system of rock paper scissors has been turned into a game of colors, mainly Red Green Blue. RGB for short. On the count of three, two players will select their color. The winner will be determined by the hierarchy of the colors. The game still needs to be GM moderated, but in general the basic mechanic is in place.

Some gameplay suggestions for later would be to add a timer in to make the game more "automated". As well, since I was unable to find the simple script to display the character's name, I ran into some problems determining which player picked what color. Generally speaking, however, players are honest about what they chose. However, that is something I'd like to add in for later to avoid any confusion.

Game 4:

The fourth level was much larger than any of the others, which added much to the desired atmosphere for the game. Because players were not given any clues automatically besides the clue given by the sliding door helped, there was intrigue and this made the game appear to be much more difficult than it was. It also kept players interested and inquisitive, which is exactly the atmosphere that we were going for. Most players very much enjoyed the final level, and while it seemed hard at first, as players uncovered a certain number of clues things seemed to “fall together.” This happened in each Playtest that was conducted – the transition from slight frustration to reward was swift – and we consider that a formidable design win.

Positives:
1. The mailbox outside was cited specifically as being a fantastic setup for this type of puzzle game.
2. The game was intriguing for players.
3. The game was difficult at first and then it became easier, which was a good curve for a 7-15 minute game.
a. While players seemed to be “confused” at the beginning when the first encountered the game, as they realized what the goal was and what was going on, it made a powerful transition from confusing to fun and difficult.
b. Apparently it was quite rewarding to finish

Negatives:
1. People were curious about the particle helm and whether it was related due to similarities between the colors that were on them and the colors that the game dealt with.
2. The lack of a ladder or stairs tended to throw players off, but they got over it without too much trouble.

Improvements:
1. Added a couple more clues to help players make it up to the second floor more easily.

The Club & Castle:
Unfortunately we ran out of primitives during the final stages of development for the club (after several prim consolidation attempts) and the club can currently only be used to give a feel for what we were going for. Due to the ‘emptiness’ of the club, we did not play test it specifically.

Improvements:
1. We changed some of the textures to make the floor more distinguishable and realized a wall was missing that would allow a player to fall, so we added that.
2. Added a few objects in the surrounding area of the castle for scenery.

Here are some pictures of the club:

Posted by Peter Van Dyke at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cold War Confusion
Team Deviants

◙ High Concept:

It is the height of the Cold War, set in a secret government facility. Security has been breached by an unknown assailant, and the building is under lockdown. Four agents are trapped inside and need to override the base’s self-destruct sequence. They will need to work together – but could one of them betray the others to save his own skin?

◙ Overview:

“Cold War Confusion” is designed to be used by four individuals to solve a series of puzzles emphasizing communication and teamwork. It sets the players in a CIA building during the Cold War in which they have been trapped by a saboteur. The players must work together to get out of the building before the self destruct sequence runs out of time and the building explodes. The game is housed in the MMOG Second Life.

The layout of the game is a basic design of four rooms connected by shared walls in a rectangular configuration. Each of the rooms contains one puzzle and one player. However, the player cannot solve the puzzle with just the information in the room. Instead, the player must work with the other players to get all of the necessary clues to solve the puzzle.

The Game Master, GM, is the central authoritative figure who overviews the game to ensure that everything works properly and also influences certain events. The GM is played by one of the game designers to make sure that the game is set up properly and that the players obey the set rules. The GM also distributes the game rules to the players in the beginning. While it would be nice to make the game autonomous, the GM is a central figure for now.

There are three main puzzles that must be solved first. These puzzles are focused on math and sequences, verbal and information gathering, and chemistry and verbal. If the players do not communicate with the other players, they cannot complete their puzzle. Some of the clues can be figured out by looking into the other rooms, but the player cannot see into all four rooms, only their own room and partially into two other rooms. After solving each of the three puzzles, the player is given a partial code sequence which is used to complete the fourth and final puzzle.

The fourth puzzle is very simple: it simply depends on getting the three pieces of information from the other three players and inputting them into the puzzle. The simplicity of this puzzle is to give this player, the Commander, freedom to focus on the progress of the game and the other players. The Commander is a critical piece of the game if played properly. The Commander is used to ensure that all players are receiving the necessary information, and the player can coordinate information in the game to not only check on the progress of the other players but also help the other players to solve their puzzles. It is also the Commander’s job to determine who the Mole is.

The Mole is an optional game character that can be added to enhance the experience of veteran players. At the beginning of the game, the GM chooses a player at random (except the Commander) and asks if they would like to be a mole and work for the KGB. The Mole’s job is then to prevent the other players from solving the puzzles. The Mole also has special abilities to hinder the group’s progress. However, the Mole cannot be too obvious in their efforts to sabotage the group’s efforts or else the Commander will detect the Mole and remove that player from the game. If this occurs, the Mole’s puzzle is automatically solved and any necessary information in the room is given to the other players by the GM. Because of the challenges offered by this option, it is not recommended for beginner players, especially those unfamiliar with Second Life.

◙ Design Process:

Cold War Confusion requires players to cooperate and solve puzzles games in a restricted environment during height of the Cold War era. But it wasn’t always that way. Since its development began mid-way through the semester, the designers have had to grapple with the realities of time and space restrictions, as well as the difficulty of making a game with little prior knowledge of how the game engine works. What we ultimately created has been fun to both play and design, but the experience has also been a valuable learning experience in the game-making process.

When we first met to brainstorm what kind of a game we could make, our first consideration was the restricted amount of space available within Second Life. This was not necessarily a disadvantage; it encouraged us to think more creatively about what mechanics we introduced. Most third or first person titles that exist in the real world, be they adventure or action titles, require the player to move throughout a world in order to progress through the game. Consequently, we built our game to exist within a restricted space almost from the very beginning.

Yet while it was clear from the start that we needed to design a game within a closed space, and that it had to be cooperative in nature, we did not arrive upon the concept of a Cold War-era CIA game as quickly. A couple of ideas we considered included a gardening game, in which players had to tend their own plots of land until their crops had grown tall enough that could reach level of the game, as well as a concept that took advantage of Second Life’s avatar mutability, and required players to guess the identity of a specific character among a group of clones.

We eventually decided on a Cold War-themed game for two main reasons. First, recreating the offices of the CIA within Second Life seemed more plausible than creating a digital garden from scratch, due to the pervasiveness of free furniture throughout the game. Secondly, the CIA motif, inspired in part by the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series, just seemed cooler than anything else.

Once we had fixed upon a basic concept, we set about created the game world within Second Life. The task of physically building the game using Second Life’s object creation system proved relatively easy to manage. However, once we had moved beyond that to implementing the puzzles into the game, things became much more complicated. We ran into limitation with what we could do with the scripting. Programming objects wasn’t as easy as we had initially thought. These problems forced us to alter our game in two significant ways. First, we had to simplify many of the puzzles to accommodate as few scripts as possible. Secondly, the role of the Mole was greatly reduced from our original concept.

Downplaying the Mole was probably the most difficult compromise we had to make during the development of the game, because during playtesting we found that players really enjoyed the concept of the Mole and would have liked to see it implemented more extensively. Still, what we created for our final product is still fun and takes advantage of the best of what Second Life has to offer.

◙ Room and Puzzle Details:

• The Workspace

The Workspace contains the Mathematical Puzzle. The player in this room must enter a sequence of numbers into a keypad in order to receive part of the Master Code, which is necessary to win the game.

To determine the sequence of numbers, the computer in the room provides a series of clues, which are mathematical equations in which the missing operands can be determined by counting the number of objects in the other rooms. Thus, to solve the equations, the player must ask the Archives, Laboratory, and Command Rooms for information.

Even after all the clues in the computer, the player must figure the next two numbers in the sequence to complete it. If they cannot, the ARPANET Uplink (in the Commander’s Room) will give them a major clue to solve the puzzle.

In the workspace, there are also clues for the other puzzles, most notably information about the order of chemicals in the Laboratory (on the bulletin board) and determining the color and name of a secret codebook for the Archives (on a whiteboard, not pictured).

This is the simplest of the three puzzles, but that does not necessarily mean the easiest. It requires the least dependence on others, as one can try looking through the windows to find out information, and guesswork can help if one can figure out the pattern from a partial sequence.

• The Laboratory

The Laboratory contains the Chemistry Puzzle. The player is charged with mixing a sequence of chemicals in order to make C4, which will give them another piece of the Master Code.

To input the chemical sequence, the player must click on the cauldron and then type the sequence of chemicals, which come from four of the six beakers on the lab counter. To correctly determine the correct composition and order, the Lab player must use the clues given by the beakers, which create a logical framework that excludes some chemicals and some orders of chemicals.

To preclude some guesswork, information is located in the Archives and Workspace that can be discovered with some careful sleuthing. The Archives tells which four of the six chemicals are needed, while information in the Workspace is critical for determining the order of the chemicals.

There are also clues for the other rooms in the Laboratory, most notably a clue behind the periodic table that helps the Archives figure out the color of their secret codebook.

The Laboratory is a medium-complexity puzzle. The player must juggle multiple levels of information, and is dependent on clues from the other rooms.

• The Archives

The Archives, the Verbal-Geographic-Historical puzzle, is the hardest in the game. The player is charged with breaking a secret code, which is written on the chalkboard. To break the secret code, the Archives player must discover five discrete pieces of information, and write them on the chalkboard (by clicking on it).

As each clue is written down, the code on the board is updated, to reflect the puzzle being solved piece-by-piece. Once fully solved, a codeword is written on the board, which the Commander can use to retrieve a piece of the Master Code.

Each of the five pieces of information requires a different strategy, but many are based on the information located in the filing cabinets. There are lists to cross-check, clues to decode, pointers to other rooms – all the information needs to be processed and filtered to make sense. There are even visual clues on the slide viewer.

This puzzle is the one that will probably require the use of ARPANET to solve. There are two parts of the puzzle which need the full cooperation of the other rooms to solve, not to mention the different levels of information the player must sift through. This room will probably be the last to be solved, and requires dedication and a quick mind.

• The Commander

The Commander’s office is the nerve center of the game and the hub of the puzzles. All the master puzzle answers go to this room to be used, and this room contains information needed to solve the other puzzles.

This room is unique in that it does not have a puzzle of its own to solve. Instead it contains high-level meta-clues to help the other players find information. For example, while the Commander doesn’t know what chemicals are needed to make C4, they can tell the Laboratory where to look for that information.

Also located in the room is an ARPANET Uplink, which is a major puzzle-solver. To use it, one of the puzzles must be already solved. The commander can then access it, and use it to massively assist one of the remaining puzzles. However, the mole’s abilities can interfere with ARPANET, and if its rules are broken, the group suffers a major time penalty.

Finally, the Commander’s room contains the Pyramid, where the Master Code needs to be entered to shut down the base’s self-destruct. Once this is entered, the game is won. If, instead, the timer hits thirty-five minutes before the Code is entered, the group loses and the Mole, if there is one, wins.

The Commander plays a special role in keeping the team on task and making sure information is flowing. The clock keeps the time, which lets the Commander know the urgency of events. The Commander also cannot be the Mole. Coupled with the fact that all information eventually passes through the Commander’s office, this player is best suited for rooting out the Mole.

◙ Playtest Results (Summary)

Playtest Schedule

• Tuesday, 11/08/05, 8-9 pm
• Wednesday, 11/09/05, 8-9 pm
• Thursday, 11/10/05, 8-9 pm (Server Outage)
• Friday, 11/11/05, 8-9 pm
• Thursday, 11/17/05, 8-9 pm
• Monday, 11/21/05, 8-9 pm (No-Show Testers)
• Sunday, 11/27/05, 8-9 pm (Testers Broke Game)

Playtest Procedure

All playtests were played by people outside of the team and moderated by two members of Team Deviance, except in the case of a no-show tester, in which case one moderator would sit in. Each player was given an introductory notecard to explain the setup for the game and the overall puzzle. The card gave each player a hint on how to begin. After the test had been completed, players were given individual questionnaires to fill out based on their experience in the game. Afterwards, the moderators and the players discussed the play experience as a group.

*Note: In order to perfect the base of the game, the Mole concept was not introduced in this round of playtesting until 11/17, nor do these results include the numerous team playtests.

11/08/05

Testers:
• Griffon Axon
• Kateye Kojima
• Jib Elytis (Elliot)
• Zedian Ogopogo (Paul)

Good Aspects:
• Interesting concept.

Needs Improvement:

• Not nearly enough time. Clock should be closer to 30 minutes than 10 minutes.
• Players spent as much time teleporting through walls and abusing camera controls as they did actual working on the puzzles.
• Lack of tension: Needed a clock or a ticking sound to emphasize time restraint.
• Players couldn’t hear standard chat unless they were near the center of the complex.
• Some of the rooms (the archive room in particular) loaded the player with more information than she could reasonably process in the given time limit.
• Some clues (unintentionally) misled the players.

11/09/05

Testers:
• ReallyRick Metropolitan
• June Urutmp Murdock
• Blake Saramago
• kk Mechanique (Failed to show.)

Good Aspects:
• Puzzles: Interesting. Some players thought they were challenging; others a little too easy. This is likely because the puzzles in some rooms are considerably more difficult than others.
• Teamwork: All players remarked on enjoying the teamwork aspect to solve the complex puzzles.

Needs Improvement:

• Lack of tension: Needed a clock or a ticking sound to emphasize time restraint.
• Some of the rooms (the archive room in particular) loaded the player with more information than she could reasonably process in the given time limit. Confusing.

Other:

• Players on this date communicated not only via the IM system within the game, but three of them also spoke in a voice chat program. They concluded that form of communication was particularly helpful for this communication-intensive puzzle setup. Based on their comments, we would recommend that future players should communicate in this manner for maximum efficiency and involvement in the game.

11/10/05

Testers:
• ReallyRick Metropolitan
• June Urutmp Murdock
• Blake Saramago
• Teri LaFollette

Session was cancelled due to server outage for updates.

11/11/05

Testers:
• Satchmo Prototype
• Griffon Axon
• JuneUrutmp Murdock
• Kateye Kojima

Good Aspects:
• Puzzles: Interesting. Some players thought they were challenging; others a little too easy. This is likely because the puzzles in some rooms are considerably more difficult than others.
• Teamwork: All players remarked on enjoying the teamwork aspect to solve the complex puzzles.

Needs Improvement:

• Lack of tension: Needed a clock or a ticking sound to emphasize time restraint.
• Some of the rooms (the archive room in particular) loaded the player with more information than she could reasonably process in the given time limit. Confusing.

Other:

Players on this date communicated not only via the IM system within the game, but three of them also spoke in a voice chat program. They concluded that form of communication was particularly helpful for this communication-intensive puzzle setup. Based on their comments, we would recommend that future players should communicate in this manner for maximum efficiency and involvement in the game.

11/17/05

Testers:
• Teri LaFollette
• ‘Alek’
• Cut Perse
• Kateye Kojima

Good Aspects:
• Mole Concept – Both the mole and other players thought it was interesting, though the commander was uncertain as to how to deal with it.
• Clock created tension, fast-paced environment.
• Chemistry lab puzzle was appropriate difficulty.
• Math puzzle was timed appropriately, if perhaps a little too easy.
• Forced communication was “team-building”.

Needs Improvement:
• The Mole thought that role is too powerful.
• Game was confusing, too hard, needed more explanation.
• The commander’s seemed to be dissatisfied with the withdrawn nature of his role; though he has much information to go through, he has no actual puzzle to solve.
• Difficult for the commander to know what to communicate to other players.

◙ Game Iterations:

Due to player feedback, we made the following alterations to the initial design:

• Information in the Archive’s Room was drastically reduced to make it realistically possible to finish.
• Time limited was extended from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, as that was more appropriate.
• Red herrings and unnecessary information was reduced.
• Information was shifted from the Archive’s Room to the Commander’s room; this made it easier for the Archive’s agent to finish his or her puzzle while also giving the Commander more to do.
• Information was labeled with hints as to the room it should be given to. More hints were included in all puzzles.
• Critical pieces of information were marked visually within the game. (Ex. A blank piece of paper tacked on a bulletin board was edited to display a chemical formula to indicate its importance to the chemical lab.
• Once the mole variant was introduced, the time limit was extended to 35 minutes to help offset the additional difficulty; mole powers were reduced.

Posted by Jennifer Hollcroft at 7:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CTIN488
Justin Perez

I played the detective game, Scotland Yard, with two of my roommates. Scotland Yard plays like a board game version of the Steven Spielberg movie Catch Me If You Can. The premise of the game is a group of detectives are chasing after a criminal, named Mr. X, throughout London. The game is an example of unilateral competition as one player plays the role of Mr. X and all other players in the game are working together to catch him. The detectives win the game if at any time they move to the same spot as Mr. X. If they run out of possible moves (Mr. X takes turns moving as well, but never runs out of moves. The detectives have a finite amount of mobility) then Mr. X wins the game.

There are three types of transportation all the players can use to move about the map: bus, tube and taxi. Again, the detectives have a finite number of times to use each type while Mr. X can move around on whichever type of transport is available to his point on the map.

In order to level the playing field for Mr. X, his game piece is not seen moving on the board like the detectives. The player representing Mr. X makes all his moves in secret which are recorded in his logbook. Mr. X only reveals his position on the map following specific turns during the game (3, 8, 13, and 18). The detectives have to use these four times Mr. X surfaces to chase him, and they can see what type of transportation he is taking each turn.

Scotland Yard is a fairly simple game to understand and start playing. However because the rules and the board are so well designed there is a lot of strategy to be found by all players. Mr. X has two special double moves he can make during the game. During our test, using the double moves at the same time Mr. X had to reveal his position became a popular strategy for Mr. X. He would use a double move card, make the first move, show his position, then make the second move so that he’s back in hiding right away. Also during our test, at the beginning of the game there wasn’t much cooperation going on between the two detectives. Each player was moving his two detectives (because we were playing with only three people, each of the detective players actually got to control two detectives on the game board) on their own. After a few turns, the two detective players began to communicate and strategize their moves together. Eventually the detectives were able to work together and guard key choke points on the board to swarm and capture Mr. X.

Posted by Justin Perez at 3:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)