Here’s a challenge: hack 10 games in 10 weeks
I bought this book today. It’s not your standard book.
It’s a playable collection of 10 traditional board games. Not the obvious ones like Snakes&Ladders or Draughts, but quirky games that the Vikings or the Maori played. It’s amazing. You should buy it too!
Those games are not just curious pastimes from bygone eras. They are important cultural objects that reflect the beliefs, aspirations and anxieties of the people who played them and the societies from which they emerged.
Despite originating from cultures separated by centuries and oceans, all 10 games share a beautiful simplicity. Simple boards (dare I say minimal), a die, some pieces and a few simple rules to govern the gameplay.
As I was flipping the book in awe, an idea struck me: what if I applied the method from my hack-a-game workshops to these games?
So here’s the challenge
I will hack ten traditional boardgames into ten new games that tell something (hopefully meaningful) about the culture I am immersed in.
For each game, I will:
- Play it and analyse it, so that I can answer the question: what is this game really about?
- Pick a new theme, based on my current interests.
- Prototype a new version (or versions), with rules and narrative skin hacked to embody the new theme.
- Document the process on this Medium publication.
Game hacks so far
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