Discussion Questions 5

In this week's workshop, we'll be playing 3 games which exhibit emergent social play: Little Max, Mafia, and Stand Up. Choose one of these games, and answer the following questions:

For Little Max:

1) Describe the social interactions which you observed during play. In what way did these interactions emerge from within the formal elements of the game?

Due to the unfamiliarity of the players, the social interactions were few. There was a little taunting but the other player normally do not bother with the game when it is not their turn. Most social interactions were about clarifying the rules =P


2) Using Sutton-Smith's categorization of social play roles, discuss how the players' roles changed during the course of the game.

When it isn't their turn, the players are more or less in the role to tease and taunt. When it is their turn, the player decides if he want to be an "attacker" and challenge the cup or not. There is perhaps a "seduction" to tempt the player to challenge a cup that that has been honestly declared.


3) Suggest a modification to the game which will alter the social dynamics that emerge during play.

I feel that allowing anyone to challenge the cup will make the game more social. This modification will get more people involved in the game even though it isn't their turn. Even though we tried this modification and it didn't seem to make a difference, I think it was because the players didn't really attempt to challenge enough. (Depends on the crowd) Possibly adding one more die into the cup will cancel out the resultant speedup of the game.