preparation
Friday 20th Jan
Getting Started
- Make sure you have access to the main course text, Rules of Play (more details on the resources page and it's available on reserve in the library). Read the Foreword and the Preface.
- Choose a game you like. In at most 100 words describe it to someone who you want to persuade to play it. Email your text to me (matt@marlbs...) before class and we'll share them in class.
Tuesday 24th Jan
What is a Game?
- Solve at least one sudoku puzzle (here is one website with free ones of various difficulties, no doubt you can find others too).
- Play Dots and Boxes. See the resources page for rules. Ideally, play against other humans, but if you can't find one you can against a computer.
(We might not talk much about either of these on Tuesday; the idea is to build some common ground for us to examine more as the semester goes on. And we will be talking about both in more detail at some point.)
- Late addition: reply to my email about longer/alternative class times.
Friday 27th Jan
Game Day
Today we're going to learn to play the three main games for the class: Heroscape, Pandemic and Summoner Wars. We'll start at 1.30pm as usual and go as long as people want (within reason). No obligation to stay past 2.50pm, but it's a good/easy way to increase your familiarity with the games which I'll be asking you to do outside class anyway.
If you want to get a taste of what they're like, check out some of the links on the resources page, or Pandemic and Summoner Wars are available on reserve in the library. If you'd rather wait and learn them in person from someone who knows how to play (often most efficient, I find), that's fine too. Over the next few weeks I'll be asking you to play games with them.
There's nothing else to be done in advance of this class, but note the relatively heavy reading load for next week. If you're at a loose end you should start on that.
Tuesday 31st Jan
Core Concepts of Games.
- Rules of Play, Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
- Optional secondary and additional reading from Characteristics of Games (see resources page) for today and Friday: Introduction, all of Chapter 1, Sections 3.1, 3.2, 3.3. [If possible, use Rules of Play, but if you can't get hold of it read these rather than not doing any reading.]
Friday 3rd Feb
Core Concepts of Games ctd.
- Rules of Play: Chapters 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
- Have played some of the three main games more (and have played each of them at least once by now).
Tuesday 7th Feb
Puzzles 1
- Nothing for class, but remember that Assignment 1 is due today.
Friday 10th Feb
Game and Puzzle Day
- Another game day. Same deal as the last one. We'll commandeer 216 as well and go as late as people like (within reason). Ideally, you'll have played each game at least once by now and be getting a good feel for at least one of them. If you haven't played Summoner Wars by this point (or maybe anyway) check out the learn-to-play video on the resources page. It's about ten minutes long and will give you a good sense of the basics of the game.
- The first puzzles write-up is due on Sunday. You can use today's class time to work on them or ask questions.
Tuesday 14th Feb
Schema 1: Rules
- Read Chapters 14, 15, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of Rules of Play (13 and 16 are good to read too, and we'll definitely read 21 in the future, but I'm trying to keep the total page-count down).
- While doing the above reading, think about how what they are talking about applies to Summoner Wars, Pandemic and Heroscape. I completed, and wrote up, my process when doing this during the tutorial in 2009 for Heroscape when I first used the book. You can read it here (or attached below as hs2.pdf). You don't need to write anything up, but I hope it's a good indication of the type of thinking I expect.
- Optional additional/alternative reading: Characteristics of Games (see the resources page) Chapters 3, 4 and 5. It's a bit less wide-ranging that Rules of Play, but on the other hand it's deeper and more technical.
Friday 17th Feb
More Rules, Some Probability, Some Puzzles, Dots and Boxes,...
- No specific prep. Make sure you're on top of all the reading, games, assignments and so on that have been set so far.
Tuesday 21st Feb
Game Trees and Superpig
- Make a start on your Pig variant. There will be time to continue work on it.
Friday 24th Feb
Strategy and Superpig
- We'll talk about strategy in Dots and Boxes and how that is possible without needing the full game tree. Make sure you know the game (this was an earlier prep).
- A chance for you to continue (and finalise?) your group work on Pig. Make sure you have been working on it together prior to class. Assignment is due on Sunday.
Tuesday 28th Feb
Play I
- Read Chapters 21, 22 and 23 of Rules of Play.
Friday 3rd March
Play II
- Chapters 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of Rules of Play.
Tuesday 7th March
Class cancelled
- Work on your assignments (due on Friday).
Friday 10th March
Game Day
- No prep needed, but remember there is an assignment due today.
Spring Break
Tuesday 28th March
Culture 1
- Rules of Play Chapters 29-31.
Friday 31st March
Culture 2
- Rules of Play Chapters 32 and 33.
Tuesday 4th April
Project Kick-Off
- Come with ideas in mind and ready to collaborate.
Friday 7th April
Puzzles 2
- No prep required but if you'd like to bring along a favourite puzzle or example of a type of puzzle, that'd be good. For example, a couple of you were talking about enjoying those logic puzzles with the grids of boxes.
Tuesday 11th April
Puzzles 2+
- Have continued playing with the puzzles from last week. Come ready to talk about solutions, approaches, etc.
Friday 14th April
No Class
- Sign up for an individual conference (details in class).
- Gather outside Sci217 from about 2.30pm or so to cheer John M as he comes out of his orals.
Tuesday 18th April
Final Paper Workshop
- Come with your latest drafts/questions/anything else. If you're on top of the paper then use the time for the project.
Friday 21st April
Project Playtesting I
- If your final project is at a point where feedback on how it plays will be useful then bring it along.
- Either way, come ready to try out what others have produced so far.
Tuesday 25th April
Game Day (With a Sprinkling of Puzzles)
- Our last (scheduled) games of Pandemic, Heroscape and Summoner Wars and maybe a few puzzly games (or gamey puzzles) thrown in too.
Friday 28th April
Project Playtesting II
- Everyone should have their project to a point where a playtest from others will be useful. Come and play them.
Tuesday 2nd May
Presentations
- Come ready to give a summary (5ish mins) of where you design project is and an interesting choice or two that you've had to make (or are about to make) along the way.
![[paper clip]](/courses/source/wiki_images/paper_clip_tilt.png)
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