This week we went through some board games as examples and inspiration for our upcoming solo project, as well as learning more about procedural rhetoric and structure of games. On Tuesday we were assigned to bring in our own preferred board games and play them in groups. My group played Secret Hitler, a game I was already familiar with, but very refreshing to have new players explore and interact with. The goal is to have the Fascist players elect their Hitler player as chancellor, and the opposing team, Liberals, must prevent it. However, only the fascists know whose roles others have, so it’s up to the Liberals to form trusts and figure identities. While we had fun playing it a few times, we also discussed what the procedural rhetoric is and what mechanic/rule we can try adding in to make it different. We figured the procedural rhetoric was lying to win. As players, we can’t blindly trust others just because they made one favorable move or believe everything they claim. Only through interaction and communication can either sides can win, and that’s what makes it so intense and entertaining. One mechanic we added was the liberals can force someone to reveal their role after gaining enough power, which benefits them greatly since they know if that person is on their side or not. We chose this new mechanic because we felt the liberals were at a disadvantage having fewer liberal cards than fascists to gain power. Another thing I really enjoyed about this is that the board game requires players to also interact with other rather than with just pieces or dice. It adds a whole new mechanic that we can manipulate, and it’s not bound to the board and objects. A lot of factors are introduced, such as people’s personality, deception, persuasion, intimidation, and much more. The more we attempted the game, the more chaotic and confident we were, and it becomes an enjoyable experience.

                On Thursday we went over more about the designs and forms of games. After reading through Tracy Fulleton’s book The Structure of Games, we listed down certain elements and structures all games should have and what creators should think about. Things like what certain playstyle and players you want in your game, the objectives, rules, progression, and outcome. All these matters the most as it’s like a groundwork or to-do list for any game. Looking back at the board games we played last class and every other game I’ve tried, they were all enjoyable because of the same interest other players had, the rules and mechanics kept everyone on the same page, and the designs were very unique and creative.