Introducing a new Zoom Game –– Ratatouille!
I present to you an entirely new game, designed for Zoom: Ratatouille! This game utilizes Zoom’s reaction features to play a game similar to Rock Paper Scissors, with some distinct differences. Ratatouille is a two-person game.
GAME NAME: Ratatouille
You are a mouse. You want a lot of cheese and you DON’T want the other mice to have cheese.
Goal: Get 8 cheeses so that your mouse can be very, very happy OR reduce your opponent to 0 cheeses. Each opponent begins with 4 cheeses.
Our game utilizes Zoom’s reaction features, which you can find by opening the Participants tab and then pressing ‘More’. These reactions will display on your screen as you select them. The three reactions we will use are Clap, Thumbs Up, and Thumbs Down. They align to the 3 moves you can make during this game. You will make moves in the same way you would in Rock Paper Scissors — you will throw your sign after counting to 3 and see who beats who.
- Cook — Create a new cheese and add to your cheese supply (Clap)
- Steal — Attempt to take two of your opponent’s cheeses (Thumbs Up)
- Catch — Block your opponent from stealing one of your cheese’s AND take one of theirs (Thumbs Down)
IMPORTANT:
- 1, 2, 3, and THEN throw your signal
- Must complete every move once before winning (if you win accidentally, reset back to 4)
Ratatouille is a spin-off of the attack/defense game we watched in CS247G Lecture. In play testing this game, I found that the individual who takes an early lead is most likely to win. However, adding the condition that you must complete every move before winning definitely stirs the pot, as now you can not simply steal the first round and then catch/cook your way to victory. Also, as we played more, we got riskier — willing to cook and steal more, and thus catch less. In the design of the game, we hoped to create moves that were equally powerful and led to an unclear move by your opponent at any given point, allowing a fun and interactive experience. I had a pleasure playing this game against my friends, and I hope that you do as well!
Enjoy playing Ratatouille and tell your friends!
