This week we had to choose a board game at home in which we had to clearly identify the objects and their properties. (Strategy board games often have objects with properties that are easy to identify). We also had to make a list of all of the objects and their properties in our game
Objects and Properties: My game is called Ludo. It is played by four players who can choose to team up as 2 a side or can play individually. Each player has four pawns of similar color. Apart from the pawns, the board with the path marked towards home is other object. Everyone is at the same level of hierarchy. You can rest on the way to home on designated stops owned by you or your team which are marked by four different colors (Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green). You are safe only in your zone or designated spots. Your goal is to get all your pawns to home before your opponents.
Behaviors: How many steps you move depends on the rolling of dice. You get out of your compartment (ghetto) when you roll a six on the dice. Rolling six gives you maximum reward of getting out of your ghetto, to getting a chance of rolling the dice again and thus pacing towards home. Each of these pawns move only in a forward direction. You can rest on star spots which are of the same color as your pawns. On these spots, you are safe from harm and nobody can kill you. On rest of the path to HOME, you can be killed if the opponent steps on you. You will then have to begin a fresh journey from your ghetto. On your way, you can choose to protect yourself and your team member and at the same time kill the opponents pawns and send them back to maximize your chance of winning.
Relationships: Relationships are defined by color and position. You can team up with diagonally opposite color. All the pawns have same value and power, so it is important to save the whole team and not just your pawns. When playing singly, everyone apart from your pawns are your enemy. So you have to kill others to have more time for yourself to make it home.
Visibility: Completely visible game. Everything is on the board but the only thing that is not visible might be pacts that you establish with your opponent.
Serious Warp: The game can be very easily converted into a corporate game. There could be two teams in the same domain (lets say Coke and Pepsi). Your game is to march ahead to home earlier than your opponent. You can do so by either marching ahead very fast or by killing and inflicting injuries on your opponent, which will slow them down. Everything that you do is visible and thus will have serious repercussion on your business too. So I would change the killing part in this game. You have to compete but you cannot stab your opponent. So there would be a symbiotic relationship between the two and still both of you grow. (However by this move I am not sure how much of the fun component will be left in the game).
