Game Play!

      It was really fun tonight for playing interesting games with fellow students! In this blog, I'll talk about these games and what I learnt from them.
      Let me start with Uno -- the first game we played together.

      The rules of uno are not complicated at all. Basically the players need to match their cards to the card on the top of discard pile, either by number, color or symbol. The aim is to get rid of all the cards in the player's hand as soon as possible and reach 500 points. When there is only one card left, that person must yell "Uno". I would say that the mechanics of this game are collection and prediction.  Although it is easy to pick up, there are still strategies inside the game. The first strategy is to properly use function cards.The points of function cards are higher than the number cards. With these cards left, even though you may lose in the first round, you still have a comparatively big chance to be the final winner with a comparatively higher scores. But keep in mind, once you fail in the second or third round, you need to discard the cards with higher points in case of the winner of the first round winning again. What's more, those function cards are really helpful to create "obstructions" to other players.
      The second game is more distinctive. The rules of the game are continually making new rules and goals for the game. Sounds crazy huh? But I have to admit that the most interesting part of this game is the uncertainty of rules. With "new rules" and "new goals", you can hardly predict what you need to do to win the game. However, there is one thing for sure, that is you have the control power in your turn and this is exactly the strategy for this game.

     The third game is connect 4. The rule is simple, the player needs to connect four of one's own discs of the same color next to each other vertically, horizontally, or diagonally before your opponent. The core of this game is about prediction according to math. The trick is that the first player can force a win by starting in the middle column.

     When we play a new game, we need to learn the rules of it. It's obvious to see that the rules of a game can be a core part for game design. When making these rules, the designer should make them easy to pick up and give players more space to flexibly apply the rules (make strategies)!
     I really enjoy playing games especially with friends and I also get some inspirations from today's class :)

ps. It's easier to focus attention for a comparatively long time when playing a game, that's the magic of games!