The latest version of the game incorporates a full set of Place Cards, tweaks to the rules and some revisions to The Score Board and the Proposal Decks from version 0.6. These changes reflect the ideas and feedback from the previous game test.
All the game components are shown below with descriptions on how they work and were used in the latest game test (report coming soon.)
The full set of game components for the current version. The cards are printed in black and white on coloured recycled cardboard.
The latest set of Game Rules.
The Actor Cards represent people from the area who reflect some of the key social issues of our time. The players will each be given an Actor Card who they will need to advocate for. They have not yet been updated with the Precarious Scales. Instead, for the the next game test I will ask the players to think of two key desires they feel their Actor would like to achieve by the end of the game. Every player must achieve at least one of these for everyone to win.
The Game Board represents the Milton Street neighbourhood in Sheffield. This will be changed for each individual community along with the place cards. As interventions are played during the game, players or the facilitator will draw the proposal onto the board, recording the preferred choices to input into real world design decisions.
The Intervention Cards are at the core of the game play. They represent what the Community Land Trust could do to improve the neighbourhood. The cards are split into three tiers based on the scale of the interventions. The Small Interventions will be available from the start of the game with each player receiving three each at the start of the game. The Medium and Large Interventions are ‘unlocked’ when players play the key (Gold) interventions.
The cards show the resources they require and effects they give on the front and further background information on the back.
The Place Cards match the real world places shown on the Board. Most interventions will require a place to be situated in, so players will need to combine them together. The fronts of the cards show the requirements for using the place, while the backs provide further background information on each plot gathered from the site including ownership; current use; historical use; planned use etc. Players will be encouraged to add their own knowledge of the area onto the cards as they play.
The Funding Cards are based on real world funding sources that could be used by a CLT. For this version a lot of the small cards are still in a draft format. The cards include the requirements needed for players to play them and background information on what they are.
The Proposal Decks have now been reduced to a maximum of three, with one shared between two players. Each turn, the players will swap and work with their opposite neighbour to produce a proposal. The pairs of players will have five minutes in the Planning Phase to put together a proposal of up to two interventions and four resource cards.
The decks act as a guide for this process. Each pair of players will then have two minutes to pitch their proposal to the rest of the group. All the players then place their vote chip on the proposal they think is best. The winning pair will get to play the proposed cards in any order. Some cards require a dice roll to represent the chance of failure so the time might not allow to play everything proposed. This will challenge players on whether to go for higher- or lower-risk strategies.
The game only requires a few pieces other than the cards; a single Die for chance rolls; a variable timer (I will try one that ticks and rings loudly so that players can keep track of it during noisy discussions); and a vote chip for each player.
The Score Board has been simplified to a small white board which the Facilitator will keep up to date with the CLT’s current resources through the game.
City of Sharing 