This term, I am in a class called Game Changers. We have been studying how to design our own games, how to theme games, game mechanics, and how to play test games. Our Action Project this unit was to become the role of a game designer and try to convince certain people to buy our game. I decided on the situation of a game designer selling to a school that teaches Kindergarten to Third Grade classes and needs games to get the students used to being at school. I had some trouble with finding games for these age groups because I haven't played games like that for a long time. I eventually found help in the website BoardGameGeek, which had specific sections for age groups.
The first day of school can be stressful, especially for younger students. You are surrounded by new people and in a new environment and it can be hard to adjust. A teacher for Kindergarten to 3rd-grade students is trying to find a game to play for the first day of school to help students meet each other, get adjusted, and learn. Because of the low school budget, the teacher wants to find games that are cheap or that multiple students can play at a time. The basic requirements for this game are to be cheap, educational, sturdy and include social interaction. For younger students, social interaction might look different than other ages. The goal is to have the students learn about each other, and hopefully connect and make friends.
In the end, I decided to choose The Scrambled States of America as my recommended game for the 5-8-year-old students. Aside from being my favorite game when I was younger, it simply makes more sense for this situation. It is about $6 cheaper per copy, which is very beneficial for the small school budget and it is much more educational, which will get students in the learning mood starting on the first day. Each game runs shorter, which means being able to play multiple rounds, or allows more time for other activities, and it sets basic rules that are easy to learn and follow, which is important for smaller children still learning basic game play. Even though you may need more copies for each classroom, the game is much more sturdy than Hedbanz and it can still be played if some of the pieces are lost, which is likely to happen in classrooms for young children and is not true of many other games.
The first day of school can be stressful, especially for younger students. You are surrounded by new people and in a new environment and it can be hard to adjust. A teacher for Kindergarten to 3rd-grade students is trying to find a game to play for the first day of school to help students meet each other, get adjusted, and learn. Because of the low school budget, the teacher wants to find games that are cheap or that multiple students can play at a time. The basic requirements for this game are to be cheap, educational, sturdy and include social interaction. For younger students, social interaction might look different than other ages. The goal is to have the students learn about each other, and hopefully connect and make friends.
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| Games Venn Diagram. Shaffer, Maeve. (December 2, 2016) |
In the end, I decided to choose The Scrambled States of America as my recommended game for the 5-8-year-old students. Aside from being my favorite game when I was younger, it simply makes more sense for this situation. It is about $6 cheaper per copy, which is very beneficial for the small school budget and it is much more educational, which will get students in the learning mood starting on the first day. Each game runs shorter, which means being able to play multiple rounds, or allows more time for other activities, and it sets basic rules that are easy to learn and follow, which is important for smaller children still learning basic game play. Even though you may need more copies for each classroom, the game is much more sturdy than Hedbanz and it can still be played if some of the pieces are lost, which is likely to happen in classrooms for young children and is not true of many other games.
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