SLQ Wiki engagement:one_last_apocalypse:game_nights

Playing Fiasco

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:03:07 +0000

Playing Fiasco

The Edge programming team played Fiasco on Friday 6th August 2017. There were four of us and this was a great number to play. It is a complex game in ways and it is important to know certain confusing rules (which I did not have a good grasp of) It was important for the main person to feel confident with starting off the scenarios. It can be a challenging and confronting step to story tell as your character. In light of this I would suggest putting all the playing tables in close vicinity so as everyone feels like everyone else is doing it and maybe offers a chance to relax into it.

Points to consider when offering it as a public program

- Have a break before the tilt so that all groups can do this together

- Maybe also have a break before the Aftermath as well to do the rolling of dice together again

How talk about it- how it fits into One Last Apocalypse is:

- Unpacking it as a cultural artifact- You can learn new things when you play a game.

- This game forces you as a player to examine social literacy. You see the ways in which you have an immediate effect on those playing with you. How does it do this? Also, you are forced to make decisions and think on the spot. To take steps outside of yourself. Challenge your sense of self.

- It is collaborative. There are no winners or losers. You are telling a story together and imagining it together. Navigating curve balls that get thrown in. The point is to have fun as well!

Fiasco

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:03:23 +0000

Fiasco

Materials needed

1. Facilitators notes

2. 4 dice per player (2 colours)

3. Copy of the playset

4. Index cards (large sticky notes with - relationship, needs, objects, location and tilt written on them)

5. pens

6. Playmat

7. Book of the rules with these pages marked:

- tilt instructions

- Aftermath instructions

- Cheat sheet

http://bullypulpitgames.com/games/fiasco/

http://bullypulpitgames.com/games/fiasco/fiasco-downloads/

Preparation

Play the game.

get all the resources prepared

Recommendations

Only 2-4 players (including you) and a facilitator needs to be at each table.

Small table

Have the game set up before everyone arrives

Further Learning

Table top on you-tube has a number of videos about playing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuJizhyf-y4

Introduction

Explain why we are playing this game (The purpose is to develop an understanding of apocalyptic gaming and explore what is fun about that space)

Get started (refer to the facilitator notes)

Post Discussion

Make time at the end of the game for the group to share any thoughts and ideas that came up while playing.

End

Find a way to say good bye and close the evening.

You may wish to get people to fill out surveys on devices or email that through to them later.

Reflection

This session was the rescheduled session after we postponed the first one (we were all ill). The first session was full with a wait-list. This session we had 8 sign up and 5 on the night. I put this down to school holidays and September being festival season (Brisbane festival).

The attendees were all engaged in the game and conversation for over 2 hours. When they left they all stood outside chatting. This was fab to see. There were two people that had not been to the edge before as well.

This is the first game that we have done that we have had an external gamer on a table. It worked really well.

Evaluation

Pre

42% somewhat connected

57% like book clubs

Eventbrite Pre

Forms post

Photos

Immersive Experience

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:03:08 +0000

Immersive Experience

An immersive experience to be experienced by participants. The following are examples of what this could be:

1. An escape hunt

2. A gamification experience

3. A scaled back experience of an Immersive performance with a discussion afterward.

The Edge is exploring the third option with the work 'Library for the end of the world' by Sarah Winter.

A library for the end of the world

Here are the past iterations of this work:

http://www.metroarts.com.au/posts/library-end-world/

https://vimeo.com/102200407

Preparation

We worked with the artist to identify which work of theirs would best suit the Apocalypse program. We discussed having a focus on personal apocalypse due to the rest of the programming being more about community and larger apocalypse experiences so far. We met in person a number of times to nut out the work as well as work on where at the edge it would take place.

Recommendations

Further Learning

Examples of immersive works:

Post discussion

The artists involved (Sarah and Jono) lead a post experience discussion with the group. Questions such as:

- how did you find the experience?

- were you emotionally engaged? why or why not?

The artists also provided background to creating the work and shared experiences from previous iterations.

End

Reflection

It was so fantastic to see 12 diverse individuals turn up last night (full capacity). There were gamers (who had never experienced an immersive work before) some library staff, an older lady and some other younger people and 2 studio G boys. There was even a baby! A great mix.

Everyone was happy to stay and wait for others to finish the experience to then chat about it all together. Comments that were mentioned:

- At times I wondered if I was going the correct way or heard the instruction. I had thought of a memory to record and then when i got to the desk another memory was triggered and I recorded that one instead. I didn't think my memory was big enough. The experience re framed my experience of the building (which i think of as a work place). I couldn't stop thinking about apocalypse.

I think that offering these kind of diverse experiences are so important. Being taken out of the everyday and looking at the world slightly different and discussing the experiences with other. I really saw this in action at this evening.

Evaluation

Pre

33% have been coming for over 12 months

25% it will be first time

50% came because they like game nights

25% came because they were interested in apocalypse

33% prob not connected

16% very much so connected

16% Somewhat connected

Post

12 people attended (capacity) 7 completed the survey

42.86% have been coming to the edge 1-6 months

57.14% over 12 months

Community Development

Do you feel connected to The Edge community?

28.57% probably not connected

57.14% somewhat

14.29% very much so

Cultural participation

Did you feel engaged by the book club?

14.29% probably not

71.43% somewhat

14.29% very much so

Community Development

Did you have a conversation with someone new?

42.86% somewhat yes

57.14% very much so

Accessing Resources

Did the games night feel inclusive?

57.14% somewhat yes

42.86% very much so

Idea building

28.57% prob not

28.57% not sure

28.57% somewhat yes

14.29% very much so

Photos

The Quiet Year Games night

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:03:22 +0000

The Quiet Year Games night

Will be played in the foyer of The Edge in the bay windows. The aim of this game is to get the community working together, thinking critically and having fun. The learning that is embedded in this evening is social and critical literacy. The game also encourage collaborative design and an immersive experience where you invest yourself in trying things in 'your game community'.

Materials needed

Projector & Computer (or app on phone) to display powerpoint instructions

Powerpoint of the games rules to refer to when needed.

Facilitators notes to help with explaining

Contempt tokens (laser cut)

Coloured pencils/pens

Plane piece of paper for map

Paper for writing the Abundance & Scarcity

10 dice per table

Quiet year cards

Music for atmosphere

Preparation

Play the game beforehand

Recommendations

Only 2-4 players (including you) and a facilitator needs to be at each table.

Small table so that it is an intimate setting

Have cheat sheet projected throughout so that everyone can see it (last page on the powerpoint)

Keep the pace up at the beginning to get through all of the rules

Here are all the docs that you will need:

The Quiet Year

facilitator_notes_the_quiet_year.pdf

Further learning

See other Apocalyptic games-

Fiasco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuJizhyf-y4

Apocalypse world http://apocalypse-world.com/

Werewolf https://www.playwerewolf.co/rules/

Introduction

Explain why we are playing this game (The purpose is to develop an understanding of apocalyptic gaming and explore what is fun about that space)

Get started (refer to the facilitator notes and the rules)

Post Discussion

Call out for the group to reflect on their experience

Make mention of design elements (how we all contributed to the design. Collaboration.

Immersion into the experience (were invested) and affected us directly.

Share any ideas that it makes the group think of

End

Find a way to say good bye and close the evening.

You may wish to get people to fill out surveys on devices or email that through to them later.

Reflection

We had a full house for this event! It was the first games night at the edge and it was a huge success. All people were engaged and stayed for the game. There were four tables set up. Each with an edge staff member at. Chips were available. I put a bowl on each games table when everyone had arrived and let everyone know that they could top them up and that there was cold water and glasses available. Help yourselves. Everyone did. It felt fluid and made the night relaxed. Each table had a chance to talk about the larger project which sparked some interest. It was a fun and engaging night with mixed ages and abilities!

Evaluation

Eventbrite Pre

Forms post

Pre

12 people signed up online (our capacity). We also had a wait list. We sent out an email on the Friday before seeing if anyone would not be able to make it along. Then swapped in people from the waiting list. I believe that this made for a complete attendance on the night for a free event.

Community Development

16% have no feeling of connnection

16% very much have a connection

33% of signs up have been coming for over 12 months to the Edge.

16% it is is their first time

Post

Community Development

Do you feel connected to The Edge community?

20% not at all

20% somewhat connected

40% not sure

Cultural participation

Did you feel engaged by the games night?

80% Somewhat yes

20% very much so

Community Development

Did you have a conversation with someone new?

80% Very much so

20 % Somewhat yes

Accessing Resources

80% very much so

20% somewhat yes

Idea building

60% somewhat had new ideas

20 % very much so had new ideas

Other

1. I had a great time! The Edge staff member who facilitated our game was very friendly and engaging, but wasn't very familiar with the rules. This made gameplay a bit confusing at times. There was very little opportunity to meet and talk to people in different game groups.

2. Like many of the Edge's initiatives, I feel like this is a great answer to the question of what function libraries can serve in the age of Google, Wikipedia, eBooks, etc. It's still about a library's fundamental purpose - making resources available to the public. It's just that the nature of those resources is changing; the focus is less on hard copy books, and more about (a) tools that no one person needs to own, but that benefits communities to have access to - extensive reference catalogues, sure, but also laser cutters, 3D printers, sewing machines, etc. And (b) the means to build and grow the communities they're a part of - shared spaces, collaborative processes, and community events like game night

3. I liked how we had a facilitator at each table because that helped our table of strangers to get talking and play the game

4. Loved it.

Photos

One Last Apocalypse Game Nights

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:03:22 +0000

One Last Apocalypse Game Nights

Throwing an Apocalyptic spin on the traditional gaming experience to get your community discussing, exploring social literacy, unpacking games as a cultural artifact and immersed into new experiences.

Not your average Book club! It is more than turning pages. It is the first step to engage your community and get them into the library to discuss ideas around lyrics, novels, film, and comics.

The Edge themed the Game Night series (This way the series as well as the larger project has a through line)around Apocalypse.

An apocalypse (Ancient Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis, from ἀπό and καλύπτω, literally meaning “an uncovering”) is a disclosure of knowledge or revelation. In religious contexts it is usually a disclosure of something hidden, “a vision of heavenly secrets that can make sense of earthly realities”.[1] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse)

Before you run a Games Night, do your Apocalypse research

Game Nights @ Deception Bay Library

1. Life size games

2.The Quiet Year

The library plays The Quiet Year

Game Nights @ The Edge

The following three Game Nights experiences are mixing in role playing, map drawing, and a live, immersive experience facilitated by a Brisbane performance artist.

1. Quiet Year Games night

Edge team play The Quiet Year

Flexi School Quiet Year Games session

2. Fiasco

The Edge programming team play Fiasco

3. Immersive

4. Werewolf

The Quiet Year

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:03:08 +0000

internal

The Quiet Year

The Edge programming team played The Quiet Year on Friday 16th June. We were 5 players. Here are our learnings from playing it:

Stick to having 2-4 players with 3 hours set aside for playing

The most fun is had if you keep the game playful.

Points to consider when offering it as a public program

Keep the players between 2-4 (including the facilitator)

Have coloured pencils as well as plain

Use one table per group

Have a power point of the game rules and project them in the beginning for visual learners

Have the cheat sheet projected throughout the game for all to see

Laser cut the contempt tokens (Talia to design them)

You will need 10-15 dice for each game being played.

You can have multiple games being played at a time

How talk about it- how it fits into One Last Apocalypse is:

Unpacking it as a cultural artifact- You can learn new things when you play a game.

This game forces you as a player to examine social literacy. You see the ways in which you have an immediate effect on those playing with you. How does it do this?

The game forces you to make choices that will affect your fellow players ‘community’ There are no winners and therefore you make decisions that will affect everyone. All players can choose to show you how they feel about your choices with a ‘contempt’ token. This shows you in a visual way how you have an impact on others emotionally. It is not hidden or transparent like it is in life sometimes.

2. This game is immersive.

You fully enter into the game and the experiences that it presents. Thus, it is a great way to offer the feeling that One Last Apocalypse will give those experiencing the event that will be created.

3. Design

The Quiet Year is a great way to jump into collaborative design. You are literally designing a world together with the other players. You draw on a piece of paper where parts of the community are.You see visually where the world is you are designing together.

Flexi school games session

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:03:08 +0000

Flexi school games session

Arrive

Set up the space- tables and chairs enough for how many games will happen (4 per table including a facilitator- someone who has played before)

Introduce self and everyone has a turn (name and game experience)

Discuss a game as a cultural artefact- we will learn about ourselves and each other as well as about the workings of a community.

Discuss the theme that the group may be exploring ( in our case we were looking at steampunk)

Explain the game using the facilitator notes- remind the group to have fun :)

Play! refer to the rules at any time (have them projected on a screen or wall- with the actions for the week being up for the whole time)

Reflect as a group. Talking points of what aspects of the community we created were interesting? How did it make you feel socially? What are your thoughts on the community that we designed together?

Mention the next time we will be seeing each other (in our case it is for a laser cutter induction)

Goodbyes

Pack up

Reflection

Playing it with Albert Park (a flexi school)

5 young people in attendance as well as one teacher. The 'how to play' felt soooo long. I am going to create a one page doc with the dot points of how to play for facilitators. Then they can refer to the projection pages for clarification when needed (like the rule book) We were divided into 2 groups. 2 separate games. Young people were engaged and very polite with each other. No contempt tokens used and issues were easily resolved.

When a young person took a while to come up with ideas other young people were impatient and would look at phones. Not all the time but some of the time. Keeping the pace up is really important for the success of this game. Also having an experienced playing in the mix. One of the groups didn't have anyone (I facilitated from the sidelines) due to the numbers and how the group chose to break up into the two groups.

Werewolf Games night

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:03:08 +0000

Werewolf Games night

Will be played in the auditorium and the foyer space of The Edge. The aim of this game is to get the community working together, thinking critically and having fun. The learning that is embedded in this evening is social and critical literacy.

Materials needed

Music in the space

The cards

A facilitator

Chips

Water

A large space available (up to 20 people can play)with chairs in a circle

A smaller space available as well with chairs set up in a circle. Also a break off space is good to have for those that get out to hang in.

I am thinking to try running it in both large and small spaces on the night.

Have an area for chips and water

6D camera

Photo signs

Preparation

Play the game beforehand

Werewolf is a simple party game for 7 to 20 players. Werewolf is a folk game - it's based on Mafia, which was created by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986, http://web.archive.org/web/19990302082118/http:/members.theglobe.com/mafia_rules/

and became Werewolf at the hands of Andrew Plotkin in 1997. http://www.eblong.com/zarf/werewolf.html

Cards to make http://www.eblong.com/zarf/pic/werewolf-cards-novo-1.1.pdf

Card to buy https://www.playwerewolf.co/rules/

Introduction

1. Introductions (name & funniest thing that has happened to you today) and let everyone know where the bathrooms are, and that they can help themselves to chips and water.

2. Explain why we are playing this game (The purpose is to develop an understanding of apocalyptic gaming and explore what is fun about that space)

Get started (refer to the rule book)

The roles:

Werewolf - Your goal is by night, devour villagers. By day, try your best to 'pass' as an honest citizen.

or,

towns person- Your goal is to discover the werewolves and to persuade the other players to eliminate them (while avoiding being suspected yourself)

Some villagers have certain abilities:

The fortune teller

The Hunter

The witch

3. Decided on where we will play the first time we play the game (auditorium or foyer)

4. Play the game again

Post Discussion

Call out for the group to reflect on their experience

Make mention of design elements

Immersion into the experience (were invested) and that the game affected us directly.

Reflection

This game is a party game and the fact we had 7 people and the instructions say that it is a minimum of 8 to work was a little worrying to begin with. We went ahead as a group and everyone seemed open to trying different mixes of cards throughout the night. It does work with 7 people. The best mix is one werewolf, a seeer (fortune teller) and a witch.

Introducing ourselves first up and saying something about our day really helped to relax and engage people as well as get ready for quite a what sometimes can feel like a personal game.

Chips were important. We put them in the middle of our circle early on which worked well. We all had a raucous time!

Due to our smallish numbers we stayed in the foyer space that was set up. It worked really well.

Evaluation

Pre

60% first time to the edge

40% not sure if they feel connected

Post

2 people filled in the survey out of 5 that attended.

They attended because they like book clubs.

50% first time to the edge

50% coming over 12 months

Community Development

Do you feel connected to The Edge community?

100% not sure

Cultural participation

Did you feel engaged by the games night?

50% somewhat yes

50% very much so

Community Development

Did you have a conversation with someone new?

100% somewhat yes

Accessing Resources

50% somewhat yes

50% very much so

Idea building

100% somewhat yes

Other

- to broaden the definition of literature to include other mediums of art, music, films, games, etc

- The locked front door was a bit daunting last night