This morning when the kids announced they were bored I told them to design a game. (They had been watching Tabletop over my shoulder yesterday, and thought it was hilarious. "Harpies! Shrieking Geeks!" ProtestKid yelled. "Can I be a shrieking geek?"... "No," we said, because we are the meanest parents ever...)
I was surprised when they dismissed Star Wars, Robots and Fairies as suitable game topics. "Occupy?" I hazarded... "Yes!"
LittleMan scavenged the dice from another game, ProtestKid got out the colored pencils.
The game design started, of course, at the Start. Liberty Square? Tunisia? Who knows what the start truly was... ;)
Jail, Feed the Poor, and Narrow Escape soon followed. The "safe area", with its yellow balloons, is particularly sweet.(Edited to add: and now, Kettling Nets! Move back two spaces!)
But I think my favorite squares are the "March" squares: a friend can move from anywhere-- including jail-- to join you in the march. (The other way to escape imprisonment is if a friend passes you while you are stuck in jail. Then you go forward one space to "narrow escape". Still working on refining it... maybe you can call the NLG and make bail if you roll the right number?) (Edited to add: yes, a 6 or a 1 or whatever-- but only if every other player is also in jail.)
One thing we *did* settle on was the name. ProtestKid's first choice was "Occupy Police Escape" my first choice was "Solidarity March"... but in the end, I think he chose the best name:
All you need is Occupy.
Oh, and here's a few more shots of the board and pieces. Do you prefer pedal or petal power?
(If there are any other icons that you think should go on the teeny-tiny tiny tents, please let me know and I'll add them. The more the merrier. Occupy Every Space!)
I was surprised when they dismissed Star Wars, Robots and Fairies as suitable game topics. "Occupy?" I hazarded... "Yes!"
LittleMan scavenged the dice from another game, ProtestKid got out the colored pencils.
The game design started, of course, at the Start. Liberty Square? Tunisia? Who knows what the start truly was... ;)
Jail, Feed the Poor, and Narrow Escape soon followed. The "safe area", with its yellow balloons, is particularly sweet.(Edited to add: and now, Kettling Nets! Move back two spaces!)
But I think my favorite squares are the "March" squares: a friend can move from anywhere-- including jail-- to join you in the march. (The other way to escape imprisonment is if a friend passes you while you are stuck in jail. Then you go forward one space to "narrow escape". Still working on refining it... maybe you can call the NLG and make bail if you roll the right number?) (Edited to add: yes, a 6 or a 1 or whatever-- but only if every other player is also in jail.)
One thing we *did* settle on was the name. ProtestKid's first choice was "Occupy Police Escape" my first choice was "Solidarity March"... but in the end, I think he chose the best name:
All you need is Occupy.
Oh, and here's a few more shots of the board and pieces. Do you prefer pedal or petal power?
(If there are any other icons that you think should go on the teeny-tiny tiny tents, please let me know and I'll add them. The more the merrier. Occupy Every Space!)
What a cool project. Your kids are going to have great memories.
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