IAT312
Game Mechanics
The number of players: 3-4.
Target Audience: 12-21, people who pay attention to school bullying. People who are bystanders and spectators of bullying events.
Game Set-up
The board is composed of 5*5 cards board, 4 character cards, 4 character pawns, 4 stress-level scale cards, a round-record card.
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All cards face down.
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Picking out four special room cards (Principal’s Office, Student Union, Office of Academic Affairs, Family-School Association) and placing them on the four corners of the board.
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Place the Starting card in the center of the board (Coordinate: 3,3)
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Shuffle the rest cards (20 cards), and place them to fill out the rest of the board.
Gameplay Procedures
Players are role-playing the victims of varied school bullying events and try to either survive at the end of the game by keeping their stress level below 20 and unlocking four special rooms. Players are flipping over the cards placed on the boards once they land on them and explore the events. For cards triggering bullying events, players will make decisions, based on their assigned role, to decide if they would be spectators or to help the victim. If they do choose to help the victim, their stress level will increase. However, it would benefit the players when they landed on searching rooms. Players will also need to collect objects in the searching room to unlock four special rooms. Players are able to exchange their collected objects to effectively unlock those special rooms. Once players unlocked one of the special rooms, all players will be benefited and the game progress will be accelerated.
Play matrix
Growing Pains is based on chance in a higher proportion, however, it also requires players to use strategies to keep their stress level low and cooperate with other players to achieve the collective goal to stop school bullying. This game requires more mental calculations instead of physical dexterity. Players need to plan how to move on the map to get the rewards cards and keep the stress level low in order to maintain school life.
Rule Sheet
You are one of the target students of being bullied in school. You are trying to keep your stress level below 20 to survive and cooperatively work together to unlock four special rooms placed on the corner of the board. You will make your own decision when witnessing other victims being bullied.
Objects & Game Setup
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4 colored pawns representing the players
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4 stress level scale cards
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4 character cards
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10 function cards
*The game board will be set up in advance before playtesting.
Game procedures
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Each player will first be assigned a role-playing character and starts from the Starting card placed on the center of the board.
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Each player rolls the dice, the bigger number goes first.
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Each player moves one step per round in any direction as they choose (Diagonally moving is allowed).
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Each player flips over the card that they land on and checks the actions based on different room types. *Players do not need to flip back the card after one round.
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Each player has an initial 10 points of stress level, once reaches 20, the player will lose the game. If one player dies from the game, the rest of the players will automatically add 3 points of stress. *The dead player’s collecting reward cards will be automatically left in the last room that the dead player landed.
Card Function Explanations
1. EVENT ROOM (Total number: 10)
Event room will trigger one school bullying event, once the player lands on it, the player will check if they are the victim of the triggered event.
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If the player’s role-playing character is the victim of the event, the player will add stress points as written on the card.
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If the player’s role-playing character is not the victim of the event, the player will choose to help the victim or not.
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If the player chooses to ignore (being a bystander), other players will automatically add 1 stress point except the player who chooses to ignore.
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If the player chooses to help, 3 stress points will be added, other players will have no stress point added.
Room Type (black background)
Event Description
Victim of the event
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Effects of stress level
Choices making for other players
2.HEALING ROOM (Total number: 4)
The healing room will reduce players’ stress levels, once the player lands on them, the player will reduce 2 stress points.
3. STOREROOM (Total number: 6)
Storeroom allows players to obtain functional cards.
-If the player’s current stress level > 15. This player is able to draw two cards from the functional card pile placed outside the board.
-If the player’s current stress level < 15. This player is only able to draw one card from the functional card pile.
Including:
1. Item cards used for unlocking the special rooms. (Total number: 8) *You can hold the collected item cards to match with the requirements of the special room to unlock
2. Exchange cards for changing collected items with other players. (Total number: 3)
*You can hold this card and use it anytime for exchanging collected items with other players. After using, throw it back to the functional card pile.
3. Fast-moving cards for players to move any place on the board. (Total number: 3)
*You can hold this card and use it anytime for transferring any room shown on board. After using, throw it back to the functional card pile.
4. One-more-step cards allowing players to move one extra step in one round. (Total number: 3)
*You can hold this card and use it anytime for moving one extra step in one round.
4.SPECIAL ROOM (Total number: 4)
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Each room requires two specific item cards to unlock.
*Players bring two required item cards to the matched special room, the special room is defined as unlocked.
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The unlocked special room will serve as transfort station to move players to other special rooms.
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All survival players will reduce 3 stress points after one special room is unlocked.
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The player who unlocked this room will get one more step moving permanently in the rest of the rounds.
Principal’s Office（Publishing School Policy About School Bullying)
Required cards:
1. Drafting of school policy
2. Chance of calling local education administer
Office of Academic Affairs (Curriculum Reform to focus more on moral education, promoting kindness and empathy.)
Required cards:
1. Lesson reforming plan
2. Teacher’s care and help
Family School Association (Enhancing the connection between school and family to let parents know their child’s situation in school)
Required cards
1. Parent’s caring call
2. Chance of psychological counselling.
Student Union (Petition from Students to intervene in school bullying)
Required cards:
1. Signed petition for stopping bullying
2. Classmates encourage
Winning State
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Players who keep their stress level below 20 for 15 rounds will count as one of the winning states.
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Players successfully unlock all four special rooms, meaning they have finished the school bullying intervention program is the other winning state.