Assignment 6: Gamification, Tree of Life Board game
The tree of
life
Maximum number
of players: 6
Minimum number
of players: 3
The Map
The Adaptation cards
The Rules
1. You need at least 3 players
to play this game
2. Every round a player gets to
throw the dice either to advance places or to try and throw the desired number
needed to apply a menacing card
3. You are not allowed to give a
menacing card to a player that had one used on him/her in the last round
4. If you land on a square you
always need to do what the square requires.
Starting requirements
each player draws 3 random adaptation
cards. Afterwards, roll the dice and start the game.
How to win?
- have a level 6 population
- Have 5 matching adaptations of a
specific biome.
- Make your way to the finish square of that same biome. You have to land on the finish square to win.
About
Tree of life is a turn-based board
game that gamifies the process of evolution. Players move their population
through biomes that become more ‘niche’ as the players progress over the board.
This game mechanic illustrates the need of real-life species to find a niche in
a specific biome in order to thrive. Because a minimum of 2 adaptation cards of
the current biome are needed to gain population, a player must decide what
biome is the most beneficial for his or her species. When having bad luck with
the drawing of cards, players can migrate to another biome that is more
beneficial based on his or her current adaptation cards.
Luck determines a significant part of
the path of the species of a player, as is the case with the real-life
evolutionary process. However, the menacing cards that are in the game are of
course not in concordance with the process of evolution and sacrifice factual
correctness for fun. It is of course incorrect to suggest that species
deliberately ‘bully’ other species. But we still found the mechanics of the
menacing cards to contribute to a more fun and unpredictable experience.
Because of that we decided to keep the menacing cards in the game.
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