System Design

Challenge

In this 1-week game jam, we were tasked with creating a board game that incorporated the concept of circular economy, be that as the central game flow or the topic of the game. In both cases it would be advantageous if the game conveyed a message regarding the topic.

Workflow

Even within a single week, our team went through a vast variety of different prototypes before ending up with a playable game. Every single day we made big decisions to change fundamental things about our game. Every playtest showed that either the competitiveness, the topic, or the fun was errant. Importantly, however, we summoned the courage each time to change essential parts of our game and start with a new premise.

In the short time available each day to iterate on feedback, design a suitable system, prepare prototyping materials, write a rule set, and conduct a playtest, it was important to be well organized with tools such as timeboxing.

Solution

We presented an engaging game loop where players tactically position tokens on blueprints. Within this system, players make or split connections, thereby managing their resources. Upon splitting, tokens rejoin the main board, available to all players. The game continuously contains the same tokens, available to different player, scored in varied ways. This was the core of the circular economy.