Instructors
[PT] = Philip Tan
[CFV] = Clara Fernandez-Vara
[JJ] = Jesper Juul
[DR] = Doris Rusch
| SES # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Lecture: class and syllabus introduction What games and sports do the students/instructors play? Introduction to first reading, syllabus, writing expectations [PT] | |
| 2 | Lecture: design [JJ] | |
| 3 | Workshop: introduction to playtesting [DR] | |
| 4 | Lecture: types of fun and game history [JJ] | |
| 5 | Lecture: game design patterns and twenty formal game questions [DR, CFV] | |
| 6 | Guest workshop, Scot Osterweil: playtesting exercise – poker variants | |
| 7 | Guest lecture, Barry Kudrowitz: toys | First essay due |
| 8 | Workshop: fortunetelling, games of chance and dice (Roulette, Bingo, Tarot) [CFV] | |
| 9 | Lecture: competition and chance [PT] | |
| 10 | Lecture: the player [CFV] | |
| 11 | Workshop: Doris' 1000 blank cards [DR] | |
| 12 | Lecture: card and guessing games [PT] | |
| 13 | Lecture: information [PT] | |
| 14 | Workshop: initial presentation poker deck game, playtest to get feedback, and suggest changes [all] | |
| 15 | Workshop: racing games (Parcheesi, Life, Goose, Mille Bournes) [CFV] | |
| 16 | Lecture: racing games [CFV] | Second essay due |
| 17 | Guest lecture, Dennis Loo: gambling and probability | |
| 18 | Lecture: space games [CFV] | |
| 19 | Guest lecture, Denis Dyack | |
| 20 | Workshop: Go, Chess, Xiangqi, Hasami Shogi, Draughts [PT] | Check-in with the instructors about your board game design |
| 21 | Lecture: possibility space [PT] | |
| 22 | Lecture: feedback and emergence [JJ] | |
| 23 | Workshop: board game playtest | |
| 24 | Lecture: bending and breaking [JJ] | |
| 25 | Guest lecture, Marc LeBlanc | First team project due |
| 26 | Workshop: LAN party (conflict, competition, and cooperation) [PT] | |
| 27 | Lecture: digital games [JJ] | |
| 28 | Lecture: abstraction and simulation [all] | |
| 29 | Lecture: social play [JJ] | |
| 30 | Workshop: narrative play (riddles, puzzles, and word games) [DR, CFV] | |
| 31 | Guest lecture, Sam Ford: wrestling, meaning, and symbols | |
| 32 | Guest lecture, Joshua Green: That's Just Not Cricket! | |
| 33 | Guest workshop, Stephen Balzac: live-action roleplaying game | |
| 34 | Guest lecture, Stephen Balzac: exploiting the constraints | |
| 35 | Guest lecture, Jason Haas: improv games | |
| 36 | Workshop: playtest for the final project | |
| 37 | Guest lecture, Chris Weaver | |
| 38 | Lecture: course evaluations and postmortem [PT] | Second team project due |