In the sprint of this week, I applied our game design workshop steps to our project. It's fascinating how games balance play and rules, with rules providing structure to gameplay. We've got our resources (card decks), and now we need a playing field and rule system.

PLAYTEST!!!

I could spend ages thinking about this, but sometimes it's best to just start playing. I need to keep our goal in mind: using play as a method to guide users through intuitive decision-making under pressure. It's a serious game, straddling the line between pure play and purposeful activity.

A game is about the Magic Circle

The "Magic Circle" - the overall experience and interaction - is crucial for us. That's why I'm leaning towards a turn-based game, allowing dialogue between players (or facilitator and player), which is one of our main objectives.

The Arena/ playing field

During play testing, the need for a game board became clear. We settled on a 3x7 matrix, representing our 7 organizational design themes across three layers: NOW, FUTURE, and STEPPING STONE. This structure worked brilliantly, and I'm excited to explain it further as we develop the game.