Play Testing

How could we simplify our rules

- Maybe cards only last for 1 round since it's hard to keep track of this

- Maybe we don't have cards that you can save up/keep

- No need for a re-roll side on the dice, maybe we have 2 sides that are pick up a card?

Thoughts while playing our new game

Its hard to keep track of cards that last for more than one round

Do rats HAVE to move 3 places each round?

-Yes. They can go back and forward if they want to

We need to rethink the board structure. Currently the rats can just go and sit waiting near each frog's safe zone as there is only one path to get there.

Could eat character have stats cards? Like Top Trumps

The rats need a way to die

What happens when frogs land on rats?

- Frogs can jump over rats, but if they finish their move on a rat then they die.

What happens when a frog is on a rat trap and a rat lands on that space too?

- The rat still dies

What will the mega power ups on rat islands be?

- The ability to control that rat from that islands' movement each turn instead of the rat choosing where to go

Should the log power ups be first in first served?

? At this stage yes.

Is there a limit of how many rat traps a frog can hold onto it?

- No

How do we even work out the winner??

?  The first player to get both of their frogs back onto their safe islands wins. But, if no player manages to get both frogs back then the winner is the player who got one frog back to the safe island first?

Is there a limit on how many rat traps a frog can place on each turn?

?

Do both your frogs get the log power ups or just the frog that got to the log first?

- Both frogs to make it easier to remember 

Could we have a place where all the cards in play sit? Could be moved up each round (cards that last for 3 rounds)

Why have we made the logs safe zones for the frogs?

- Because logs have hiding spaces that rats cannot squeeze into to reach the frogs??

Maybe we need a FAQ section in the rules

Game cards

After each creating our own games, we combined the best parts from each game into a new one. We used the cards from Hannah, Harry and Sophie's games as we play tested the new game. Surprisingly most of the cards worked. Below is a list of the cards that worked for our new game, adapted for our new game.

😀 = Positive for the receiver
😐 = Neutral for the receiver (could be positive or negative)
😞 = Negative for the receiver


Frog Chance Cards
Works for any frog species:
1. Super Jump 😀
Jump forward 5 places.

2. 1080 Drop 😀
The rat misses it's turn and another frog player moves 2 spaces closer to the starting island.

3. Boing 😀
Hop 3 spaces.

4. Stuck in the Mud 😐
You must only move one character for the next 3 rounds.

5. Nasty Nip 😞
A rat can move 3 places.

6. Lost the Scent 😞
Miss your next turn.

7. Yummy Stench 😞
One rat can move 1 extra space towards you for 3 rounds.

8. Leap of Doom 😀
Jump 5 spaces. You must only move your other frog on the next round.

9. Lucky Day! 😀
You get 2 extra rolls this round.

10. Bouncer 😀
Move 3 spaces

11. Island Hop 😀
Choose one frog to travel to the nearest log.

12. Chemo Signal 😐
Use your chemo signals to swap places with another frog of your choice.

13. Slippery Suzie SAVE CARD 😀
Extra life. If a rat lands on your character, they move back 1 space. Single use only.

14. Sneaky Sausage SAVE CARD 😀
Every time a rat moves in your direction, move your frog 1 space.

15. Saving Grace 😀
Revive a frog if one has died. Place it on the starting island.

16. Silent Sharon *needs to be worked on? 😀
Rats cannot move within a one space radius from each of your frogs for 3 rounds

17. Sly Steve 😀
Steal a rat trap from another player, if possible.



Specific for Archey's:
1. Catch a Ride 😞
While catching a ride on dad's back, your frog falls off. Move one frog back to the starting island.

2. Reproduce 😀
If any of your frogs have died, bring one back to life as a new frog. Place it on the starting island.

3. Tiny Tim 😀
This species is the smallest native frog. Rats cannot see your for 1 round.

4. Small Sally 😞
Your small size means you cannot move as far as you would like to. Move each frog one space closer to the starting island.


Specific for Hamilton's:
1. Big Betty 😀
Wow you're the largest native frog. Use your size to move each frog forward 1 place.

2. Chomp 😞
You get eaten by your predator the Tuatara. One frog must die.

3. Mix Up 😐
You look identical to Maud Island frog and get mixed up. Switch places with a Maud island frog of your choice.

4. Yummy 😀
You eat your favourite food - fruit flies. Move 4 extra spaces.

5. Stay Wet 😐
Your species dries out if it doesn't stay damp. If any of your frogs are on logs or islands, move them to the nearest rock so they can get wet.


Specific for Maud Island:
1. Deadly disease 😞
Oh no you've caught a deadly disease. One frog must die.

2. Munch 😀
Your species uses it's mouth rather than it's tongue to eat. You catch some nutritious prey. Move forward 3 spaces.

3. Family fun 😀
Catch a ride on dad's back. Move one frog to the same space as your other frog.

4. Communication 😐
You use Chemo Signals to communicate with another species. Move one frog onto the same space as another frog species of your choice.

5. Mist 😀
It's a cool misty evening, which is your species' favourite. Move forward 2 spaces.

Specific for Hochsetters:
1. Tadpole 😀
This species is the only native species with a tadpole stage. Use your swimming skills to move 1 frog 3 extra spaces.

2. Nocturnal 😞
It's daytime but your frogs are nocturnal so are asleep. Miss your next turn.

3. Super strength 😀
The strong arms of your male frogs help it to jump to the nearest log. Move one frog.

4. Invisibility 😀
Your species' camouflaged colouring means that the rats cannot see you for one round. (Round Immunity)

5. Freeze! 😞
Your species stays motionless as a defence mechanism. Choose one frog to stay stuck for your next turn.



Rat Chance Cards
1. Stuck in a current 😞
Move one rat back to a rat starting island.

2. Super smell 😀
You can eat frogs on logs for 2 rounds.

3. Rat Run 😀
Move each rat one space.

4. 1080!  😞
Miss your next turn.

5. Multiply 😀
Your rats reproduce and you have gained one new rat to begin on a rat island.

6. Intimidate 😀
All frogs have one less dice roll for one round.

7. Boat Ride 😐
Choose one rat to travel to the nearest log. The journey takes awhile and you miss your next turn.

8. Strong Swimmer 😀
Move one rat two spaces.

9. Big Boi Steve SAVE CARD 😀
Immune to one rat trap of your choice.

10. Big lungs 😀
You use your maximum breath hold of 3 minutes. Move one rat three spaces.

11. Rat Race 😞
Only move 2 rats on your next turn.

12. Munchies 😀
You can eat frogs on logs on your next turn.

13. Shuffle SAVE CARD 😐
Swap places with a frog of your choice .

14. Dirty Rat 😀
You catch a disease and kill the frog closest to the rat of your choice.

15. Rat King 😀
One rat can scuttle 5 places.

16. DOC 😞
The Department of Conservation kills one of your rats. Choose one rat to die.


More card ideas:
- The ability to build more rocks onto the playing board?
- Switching log power ups with another player?

All the cards fall into some more simple categories:
Frogs:
- Lose a frog
- Gain a lost frog
- Move forward
- Move backward
- Switch spots
- Join spots
- Log jump
- Miss a turn
- Extra rolls
- Immunity
- Move rat
- Begin again
- Only move one character

Rats:
- Gain a rat
- Lose a rat
- Begin again
- Move forward
- Miss a turn
- Eat frogs on logs
- frogs lose a roll
- log jump
- immunity
- only move some characters
- switch spots
- kill frog

Good parts of our games

Things we liked about our first game attempts:
- Power ups/ chance cards
- Multiple routes- choose your own way
- Rats do have a chance to win
- Cards for each species with an even amount of positive and negative cards
- Being in charge of multiple counters
- Having limits on how many spaces you can move each turn

Hannah's Game Idea

Aim of the game:
Follow the chem signal trail to your frog family island, escaping from the rats who are chasing you home.

Players:
4 players. Using less is possible but less engaging.

Rules:
Frogs begin two spots ahead of the rats
Frogs move 1 spot per turn
Rats follow along the chem trails after each frog, snipping off one spot per turn.
Each turn, the player moves their frog forward one spot, picks up and reads aloud one card, and then acts on it immediately. They then snip one dot off the bottom of their chem trail to show the advancement of the rat.
If a rat reaches an island, the game is over and the rats win. If a frog gets there first, that frog wins. If the rat catches up with and snips the frog off the trail, the frog is eaten and has lost the game.
There are power ups on each island, a frog from another island can hop through here on the way to their island and gain these power ups to use at any time. They cannot collect power ups from their own island. Frogs can also use chem trail 'bridges' between their islands to hop around.
Powerups include Hop Chem Trails, in which the frog can jump across to another frog's chem trail which might be closer to their intended island (but they stay on the same number of dots), and Hopscotch, in which a frog can hop onto another chem trail, but moves to where that other frog is on the trail.

Elements of gameplay:
The chem trails get cut by the rats each game, so need to be replaced for each new game. Likewise for bridges, which may be cut.

Cards:
Cards say different things to create different events within the gameplay. These are:

• Skipper! - Jump to the adjacent chem trail
• Bouncer - Go forward 3 places
• Super Jump! - Jump forward 5 places
• Burning bridges - Your island bridge to another species breaks (choose an island bridge to snip)
• Deflect! - Your rat catches the scent of another frog and snips them instead
• Confused Doc Ranger! - Jump an island bridge in 2 turns, but not if it goes to your island
• Boing! - Hop 3 places
• Visit a friend - Jump along the chem trail of a friend for your next 2 turns
• 1080 drop - Your rat misses a turn, but a friend moves back 2 spaces
• Rat King - Your rat scuttles up 3 places
• Lost the Scent - Miss a turn (do not move forward)
• Rat Run - Everyone's rats move up by 1
• Nasty Nip - The rat gains on you by 3 places

User testing photos:

Feedback:
The game was very hard, none of the frogs made it to any of the islands and the rats snipped them all off very quickly. There weren't enough cards so we were constantly recycling them to keep gameplay going.
People really enjoyed the physical aspect of the chem trail ticker tapes.
There were good points of the game, but it certainly needs improvement to be viable.

Sophie's game idea

Aim of the game: To get as many of your species of frog back to its homeland. Or for the rat to wipe out as many of the frogs as possible.

To win: 
Frogs: to have the most frogs at their homeland by the end of the game. Could be a draw.
Rats: to wipe out the frog species (once each species has one or less counters left, the rats have won)
(Frogs cannot continue to breed unless they have 2 of their kind on their island).

Players: 3-5. 5 for the perfect game

Rules:
- Everyone begins on the starting island with 4 of their coloured counters each.
- Rats get 2 dice rolls and move this number of spaces, but each rat can only move a minimum of 3 places per turn. Rats get one more roll to try and get a chance card. If they roll a 1, they pick up the card and follow what it reads, if no 1 is rolled, the next player has their turn.
- Frogs get 1 dice roll and move this number of spaces. Each frog can only move a maximum of 4 places per turn, unless they manage to land on an island or rock, which allows then to move the full dice roll length. Frogs roll the dice again to try and get a chance card. Roll a 1 and they pick on up, if not, the next player has their turn
- Rats and frogs must take chance cards from their own species piles. These could be positive or negative things
- If a rat lands on the same space as a frog, the frog dies.
- A frog is safe once it is at it's home island.
- Rats cannot eat frogs until they are off the starting island.
- The first person who gets the most frogs back to their

User testing photos:

Feedback:
- Cards should be frequent and both positive and negative, or infrequent and all positive
- The islands could be safe zones. But maybe if you spend too long on the island, the rats can eat you

Chance Cards:
Archeys:
1. Your species likes to hide under rocks. Whenever you are on a rock, you are immune
2. While catching a ride on dad's back, one of your frogs falls off. Move one frog back to starting island
3. Your small size means you cannot move as fast as you would like to. Move each frog one space closer to starting island
4. This species is the smallest native frog. The rats cannot see you so you are immune for one round

Hamiltons:
1. You get mixed up with Maud Island Frog as you look identical. Switch places with one Maud Island Frog of your choice
2. You get eaten by your predator the Tuatara. Choose one frog to die
3. Wow you're the largest native frog! Use your size and move each frog one extra space
4. Your frogs reproduce. if any of your frogs have died, bring one of them back into the game as a new frog. Begin on starting island

Maud island:
1. Catch a ride on dad's back! Move one frog to the same space as another one of your frogs
2. You use your chemo signals to communicate with another species. Move one frog onto the same space as another species of your choice
3. You use your mouth to catch some nutritious prey. Move one frog forward 2 spaces
4. Oh no! You caught a deadly disease. One of your frogs dies.

Hochsetters:
1. It's day time but your frogs are nocturnal, so they are asleep. Miss your next turn.
2. The strong forearms on your male frogs allow it to jump to the nearest rock or island. Choose one frog to move.
3. This species is the only native frog to have a tadpole stage. One of your frogs uses its tadpole swimming skills to move 2 extra spaces
4. Your frog's camouflaged colouring means the rats cannot see you for one whole round. (Round immunity)

Rats:
1. You got stuck in a current. Move one of your rats back to starting island
2. Your rats reproduce. You have gained one extra rat. Place it on starting island.
3. You catch a disease and kill the frog closest to one of your rats. Pick which rat to kill a frog.
4. You use your maximum breath hold of 3 minutes. Move 3 extra spaces





SaveSave

Harrys game idea

Aim: To get your frog family home alive.




Rules:

• Each player controls two frogs, you can only move 1 out of your two frogs per turn.
• Frogs move 1 space per turn & roll 3 times.
• 1 player is the Rat and controls four characters. 
• You are only allowed to move 1 rat per turn, rats move 3 spaces and draw 1 chance card. 
• If a rat lands on a frog, that frog is out.
• Islands are safe zones.
• Frogs must reach their home island. 

Dice rules:

• lightning bolt - Move extra space.
• Chance card - Draw a chance card: Chance cards can be used immediately, kept for later or used continuously. They can either be helpful or give you a disadvantage.
• Rat trap - Can place a trap beside one of your characters. Traps stop rats if they move on top of them, they are also unable to move for one turn.   
• Re-roll - Can reroll one of your dice rolls.
• Card swap/steal - Either swap a card with someone or force another player to give up one of their cards. 
• Skull - nothing

Chance card rules:

Rat cards

• Intimidate - frogs have 1 less roll per turn. 
• Random shuffle - activate any time swap spots with a frog.
• Munchies! - Can jump over islands.
• Rat race - Can move 2 rats per turn. (last 2 rounds)
• Strong swimmer - Move two extra spaces.
• Big boi Steve! - Immune to one rat trap.
• Boat ride - Travel to the nearest island, miss next turn. 
• 1080 - miss your next turn.
• Sense of smell - Can eat frogs on islands. (last 2 rounds)

Frog cards

• Yummy stench - rats can move 1 extra space towards you. (last 3 rounds)
• Leap of doom - jump 5 spaces. (Frog is stuck for one turn)
• Island hop - travel to the nearest island.
• Silent Sharon - Rats can't move in your direction. (last 3 rounds) 
• Lucky day - 2 extra rolls.
• Chemosignal - Swap places with another frog. 
• Slippery Suzie! - extra life... if a rat lands on your character, they move back 1 space.
• Saving Grace - Revive your teammate. (start at home base)
• Stuck in the mud - Move your other character. (last 3 rounds)

Feedback: Our first trial of the game was successful but there was a lot of rules that needed adjusting. Firstly the layout of the map needs more attention in terms of having enough routes for the rats, it wasn't as fair and challenging for all players. Some of the dice rules needed to be more clarified, such as the rat trap and the card swap. Also, the re-roll rule was weak and could be replaced with a different rule. Lastly, some of the chance card rules were either super overpowered or didn't actually work that well, needs alterations.  

Teacher response:

• Change the islands to lily pads/logs, (can't support the weight of rats) and the dots act as rocks. 
• Turning it into a big scale board game. 
• Tree stump as home base.
• Landing on islands gives you power-ups. 
• Rocks can be moved around. 

First game attempt

Aim of the game:
Follow your path to your habitat

Players:
4 Frog players
1 Rat player

Rules: 
Frogs start, rats after 2 rounds of the other players
If you roll a 1 then you get a chance card.
Move your players the number of spaces that you roll on the dice.
First Frog back to their habitat wins!
If the rat overtakes you, then you are out.

Feedback:
- too simple
- not enough strategy
- relies too much on chance cards

After this quick test, the others went on to develop another game idea based on the feedback of this one.

Notes week 4

- mainland could be an irregular shape
- could the map be shuffled up/ mixed up each time the game is played
- different 'ground' types? grass, rock,
- topographic lines as a map layout
- map could change positions  'earthquake' roll? means you can change the map to your advantage or someone else's disadvantage
- how are you being moved? Are DOC carrying you (on a boat??) or are they jumping around like frogs?
- power ups for each specific species
- rocks or boulders that the frogs can jump onto
- day vs night?
- make your own counters
-

Power up ideas/ Frog facts

Rat power up ideas:

- they carry diseases, could catch a disease and kill the nearest frog?
- they don't have good eyesight and rely on their whiskers to interpret their surroundings
- they have great balance which makes them great climbers
- they can swim for 3 days straight, and can hold their breath for 3mins, could they be immune for 3 turns? (as if they are hidden underwater)
- they have strong teeth and can chew through glass, lead, wire etc, they could escape from a trap?
- adult rats can fit through holes the size of a coin
- rats have 4-6 litters of 6-12 babies each year, they could breed and gain more rat players?
- rats are colour blind
- rats have a good memory and can remember


http://pestworldforkids.org/pest-guide/rats/



Hamilton's Frog:
- Less than 300 in the wild
- lives on rocky ground, so has no webbing on hands and feet
- ground dwelling
- males and females look the same
- endangered
- they have tail wagging muscles but no tail
- their pupils are round rather than slit like other NZ primitive frogs
- needs to stay damp or will dry out and die
- males carry young on their backs
- mostly light brown in colour but some green have been seen
- a single brown line runs alongside of the head and through the eyes
- live in rocky moist and grassy areas
- nocturnal
- they eat fruit flies, small crickets, moths and spring tails



Maud Island Frog:
- dark brown colour
- 40,000 in the wild
- ground dwelling
- nocturnal
- catch their prey with their mouth rather than flicking their tongue
- lay their eggs in moist areas under rocks, logs, vegetation
- the eggs are guarded by the males and take 14-21 weeks to develop
- while young they climb onto the males back
- they like cool misty evenings
- active above the ground when the temperature is between 8 and 14 degrees
- they live for long periods of time, up to in their 30s
- listed as vulnerable



Archey's Frog:
- the smallest native nz frog
- ground welling
- they like to live at high altitude in damp, misty, moist native forests away from water
- they are nocturnal
- spend the days hidden under rocks or logs away from streams
- young frogs stay on their father's back
- disease has forced their population to decrease
- critically endangered
- colours vary from green to brown and red patterning
- they often climb trees
- chytrid fungus epidemic caused a large decline in this species



Hochstetters:
- has a tadpole stage!
- the most aquatic frog of the native species (semi-aquatic)
- nocturnal
- shelter in wet crevices near the water's edge
- stocky
- males have stronger larger forearms (the only native species who does this)
- listed as vulnerable
- more warty than the other native frogs
- the only native species to have any webbing. - They have partially webbed feet on their hind toes
- colours vary from green to brown so are well camouflaged
- have a yellow-brown belly
- lives close to streams
- eats spiders, beetles, mites, snails, worms
- rats, goats and pigs are the biggest threat
- Hochstetter’s frog prefers its own odour to the smell of unfamiliar members of the same species
- males are smaller than the females
- Hochstetter’s frog does not assume a rigid head-butting stance with a raised body and extended legs. Instead, this species is more likely to try to escape in water, where it swims away in a highly characteristic style. Hochstetter’s frog uses an initial double legged "frog-kick" for a few strokes followed by alternate leg kicks which cause their heads to move from side to side during swimming.
- As a defense mechanism, Hochstetter’s frogs can remain motionless for long periods of time



http://www.nzfrogs.org/NZ+Frogs/Native+frogs.html
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/branches/tauranga/hotchstetters-frog
http://www.nhc.net.nz/index/frogs-new-zealand/new-zealand-frogs.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton%27s_frog
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9991/archeys-frog
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9990/hochstetters-frog

Games to inspire us

Things in existing games that could have potential in our game:

Mouse Trap
- a physical way to become trapped

Survive: Escape from Atlantis
-multiple ways of escaping the island that's falling apart, to safety - swim, boat, but there's enemies along the way
- could be a case where you choose your own escape route/ route to frog safety

Cluedo:
- different 'weapons' / ways to die

Sorry/Ludo:
- You control and are in charge of multiple counters
- try to get all of your frogs all home
- each colour could represent a species

Story Cubes:
- Clear easy to read symbols

Monopoly:
- Chance cards have both positive and negative outcomes on them. -The idea that sometimes the unexpected can happen despite all efforts

CandyLand:
- Simple coloured card system makes it easy for children to follow where to go on the board

Settlers of Catan
- Having physical little 'houses' that they can build up from resources or points -could be safe zones?

Game words

Kingdom
Throne
Quest
Battle
Fortress
Base
Dungeon
Enemies
Territory
Knight
Joker
Queen
King
Peasant
Palace
Castle
Princess
Prince
Empire
Royal


Frog
Toad
Amphibian
Croak
Chemosignals
Lily pad
Pond
Jump
Leap
Spawn
Flies
Frog Prince
Princess and the frog
Bullfrog
leap frog
leap pad
Slimy
tadpole
puddle
belly flop
fungus
hopper
jumping jack
vault
ribbit
frog kick
slippery



Group of frogs = Army, Colony, Knot

Rat
trap
whiskers
claws
rodent
vermin
snitch/rat someone out
scavenger
scuttle
tail
gnaw
lab rat
pest
rat attack
1080
highway rat
ratatouille
infestation
water rat
rat pack
ratbag
brat
drat
ratty
rat-a-tat-tat

Ideas for game rules

Aim: Reach the end, stay alive.

Make your way from one side of the board to the other and back again - Pick your friends/family up.
Or start in the middle and make your way home (a specific corner). Stay alive on the board whilst the rats try to hunt you down.

Players could roll multiple dice each turn to determine the number of spaces they move and also a certain action.

Dice symbols:

Heart - representing health. Each player has a certain amount of lives, rolling a heart replenishes health.

Card - Player randomly draws a card from a deck. Like monopoly, the cards can be used either immediately or saved for later assistance.

Skull - Miss a turn. Roll enough skulls and your out of the game.

Rattrap - Acts like a barrier ( build a wall ) or rat moves backspaces. Second life in case the rat does catch you.

Food - some sort of benefit. Either extra turn or move extra spaces etc.

Lightning bolt - Can move twice in one turn. Double the amount of spaces you rolled that turn.

Currency - A system in which you can save up and spend 'money' on powerups.

Strategy/Tactics

Further Idea Iteration

We like the idea of the giant dice, and pitting the kids against the parents, as the parent are able to mediate and not cheat so much, playing to the kids level. Ensures that the kids are all happy.

We could have two/three die, and each face of each dice has a different symbol on it (so for two die, 24 combinations) which affect the players in different ways. Say getting

Beat the rats to the island/waterfall before they come and destroy the habitat. If the rats get there first they win the game. Obstacles, and playing cards (you stub your toe, move back two spaces). Different safe areas along the way (to the first island, where you get a breather and the rats can't go)

The mission is to beat the rats (parents?)

Reach the end and stay alive

We could have two parts, a board game first, that the outcome of determines how the physical game will begin. If the board game ends with one frog in control of the most resources, the following free play game begins the same way. They can also be played exclusively, if the weather is bad or the time to play is short.

Where you finished up could determine which creature you were, like Kings and Assholes. The position you are in gives you an advantage.

Could there be four frogs, one of each species, and they are all trying to get back to their own territories, everyone else could be rats, who are trying to stop/eat these frogs, and one or two cats who can eat both frogs and rats. If everyone is trying to extinct the frogs, it makes the plight of them seem even more real.

Could they spend the week before making papier maché masks of whichever animal they would be? This would immerse them into the environment and make them feel emotionally invested in the game.

A game like Stonewall, where players move from one side of the board to the other and back again, trying to make the route more difficult for everybody else while they go.
When our frogs reach the other side, they can collect their friend frogs on their back to return them to the safety of their island.

King of New York game research into the art style:

A currency system like the one used here?

PDF of King of New York rules

P.S. I found this frog in the holidays, squashed on the tarmac and flat as a wafer. Could this be one of our dice outcomes?

Brainstorm Gamestorm Frogspawn

Ideas for our game:

• Frogs working together to find each other/items before the rats find them
• Supervisor hides items for them to find like an Easter-egg hunt
• chemosignals - coloured stickers? mixing colours? Do they not talk?
• Spotlight - 'conservationists' find frogs in the dark
• Areas of safety and danger (Parent A might be a frog-eating rat, coming out of a cave every few seconds)
• Four kingdoms of different frogs (hierarchies between the houses, give them things to play with), main issues that they might encounter, like Aussie frogs, rats, introduced bugs etc. What would undermine the kingdom of frogs. Is it the parents? Something foreign in the middle that the frogs need to work around - a new type of frog in NZ? A new predator?
• Enemies: rats who have bouncy balls to throw at frogs randomly (can you deploy parents in the game?)
• Options of doing quests
• Different ecosystems in the playspace
• Settlers board game has endless terrain types - four different terrains for the four frogs, and they have to get to their own habitats/islands to get power-ups
• Using a giant dice with pictures, which determines what happens (waves of things, like roll a rat and rats come) like Hunger Games, or the game King of New York in which combinations of symbols on the die mean different things
• Like Enchanted Forest quest board-game,  when you got to a certain point, there was a symbol/instruction to go somewhere else, so that you map the terrain as you look for things
• Hide from predators (parents) and get past them

Thoughts:

• Need some bad guys
• Scale - a giant board game?
• Is it scalable from physical to digital?
• Tend to need a gamemaster in free play
• How do we make them free play? Inviting objects? Costumes?
• Pompous frogs? Give the frogs personalities
• 5 y/o are happy to hang out, 8 y/o want more of a challenge. The older they are, the more they want to play with their friends instead of listening to you
• NARRATIVE IS KEY
• Where do they live? How do they behave?

Our strengths:

Harry - Illustration

Ruth - Making things, Sewing, Websites

Hannah - Brainstorming, Facilitating collaboration

Sophie - Making things

Project Context

Mode of engagement:
We are aiming to use a Paidia type game, therefore unstructured and very little rules.

Target audience:
5-8 year old, inquisitive children.

Meta context; NZ native frogs:
New Zealand native frogs are very rare, with all four species still remaining either endangered or vunerable. They possess qualities unlike most other species of frogs in the world. For example, most frogs don't go through the stage of being a tadpole! The frogs have no external eardrums, produce limited vocalisations (no croaking) and instead use chemosignals to recognise and communicate with other frogs. These qualities provide exciting precedents to teach the children in KCC about the native frogs, as well as interesting aspects of the body to work with in terms of movement and activities.

One of the causes of the frogs extinction is the introduction of non-native animals; rats have been seen to be predating on frogs, and others cause damage to the frogs' habitat. By allowing the children participating in the game to connect and empathise with the frogs, they can learn more about the Pest Free NZ initiative that the KCC is raising awareness of.

Activity: 
Allow the children to find a friend in the world by using only their 'chemosignals'- no talking!

Brainstorm

- baby frogs
- swimmable rivers (the animals don't know what's swimmable)
- fresh water
- tent forts
- live board game
- 3D puzzle - birds inside predator, fish inside plastic - made out of recycling
- App with virtual reality - see wildlife in the night
- frog movement jumping game
- sneaky frog game - silent, night time (think spotlight?)
- finding frogs in the dark
- algae (didymo) growing vs conservation team
- eel migration
- game to do with catching undersized fish/ eels
- water walking spider - catching fish in the nighttime, if you're stuck you turn into algae
- pick an animal that kids are normally scared of - spiders or eels - and make not scary
- boatmen
- freshwater bugs
- hiding game - emil the eel
- kingfishers catching crabs
- whitebait, river pollution
- viva piñata

Bernie De Koven

Edit this post with any info you find out about him :)

Bernie De Koven:

He believed in the importance of play for adults. He created "the Games Preserve "(1971-1981) which was the first  centre for the exploration of games and play for adults. It was a retreat centre where people from all different walks of life could come and learn about the importance of play. There were activities that appealed to people who enjoyed different types of play- energetic, less energetic, contemplative, creative.


He's written multiple books which focus on the importance of having fun while playing rather than playing to win. He has a website called deeper fun

Bernie #2 the Shaman

Nicknamed the "Shaman of Play", Bernie DeKoven is a leading fun theorist. 

"And fun was had. And learning was had. And we definitely weren't had. Except for once. In one class I taught. Sixth grade. And all of a sudden I learned that the kids were going to be subjected to a test that would determine whether they would make the academic track in high school. It was what they call "the little death." No, wait. That's something else. But it did feel like something died because of that test. Like, because of that test, we had to stop working on inventing our own hieroglyphics. And suddenly the whole thing, even teaching, didn't seem like very much fun."

http://www.deepfun.com/bernie-dekoven-fun-theorist/

Week 2 Meeting

Theory

Our theorist: Bernie De Koven

Game

Our rules for our game:

• Move like an animal
• Eyes closed
• You can only say "Marmalade"
• Walk like a crab

Ideas:

Go home stay home

Bullrush/Octopus

Hide and seek

Sardines

Marmalade

A ludic game, modelled on 'Octopus'

The seagulls have eaten too much human litter, and they've gone blind. If they eat enough crabs, they can see again.

In a narrow strip of grass, everyone lines up on one side
Choose a few people to be seagulls. These people stand in the middle of the playing field with their eyes closed, with the aim of catching as many crabs as possible.

To begin the game, the seagulls yell out "Marmalade" and then the crabs begin to run across the playing field, sideways, to the other side. The seagulls can run around with their arms out wide and eyes shut, attempting to 'catch' (tag) as many crabs as possible as the crabs run across. If they catch 3 crabs, they can open their eyes and see again. The seagull can then keep catching crabs until all of the crabs are out.

When the crabs have got to the other side and are ready to run again, they shout out "Marmalade" to let the seagulls know to expect them again. The game ends when all of the crabs have been caught.

Ideas - games to replicate

Ludus vs Paidia

Sports
- individual
- teams

Active/ Running games
- stuck in the mud
- hopscotch
- rob the nest
- octopus
- cops & robbers
- capture the flag
- sardines
- three fingers
- spotlights
- burma trail

Board/ card games
- monopoly
- cranium
- snap
- Ps and As/scum
- King Cup

Free play
- playgrounds
- dress ups

Causes of River pollution

http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/02/special-report-how-polluted-are-new-zealand-s-rivers.html

Sediment: Fine material from deforestation

1. Rain falls onto deforested land

2. The rainfall spills sediment into waterways

3. The sediment forms a mat over the riverbed, cutting off life

When we get heavy rainfall events we get huge amounts of fine material from deforested areas.

This sediment comes off the land and clogs up the rivers making them brown and dirty, but the biggest impact is that the sediment then forms a mat over the bed of the stream, and cuts off all the habitat for the life in it.

Nutrients: Nitrogen and phosphorus from livestock urine and fertilizer

1. Cows urinate into the soil

2. Nitrogen from the urine travels through the soil into waterways

3. The nitrogen can create toxic algae and choke the water of oxygen

"It's not so much the nitrogen itself that's the problem, but that it's a nutrient, and it grows in the plants and the lakes, and there's algae and then algal bloom; either toxic algae, or algae that grows to such an extent that it takes the oxygen out of the river, out of the water itself and the animals die." 

Bacteria: E. Coli from livestock excrement

E. Coli comes from the faeces of animal livestock, and has become a major factor in stopping Kiwis from swimming in their rivers. E. Coli is a major health hazard - it can make you sick, especially if you drink water contaminated with it such as what occurred in Hawke's Bay in 2016.

DairyNZ regulations mean its farmers must fence off all waterways on their land and 96 percent have done so - but no such regulations exist for beef, sheep or deer farming.

Environment Minister Nick Smith wants this compulsory across all farming industries by 2030. One wonders why it has taken the Government so long to implement such a measure.

Invading species is also a massive problem

Invasive plants and animals in our waterways are still a major problem in 2017, with foreign species of fish like toy carp wreaking havoc on the natural vegetation in our Kiwi lakes, exacerbating the decline in water quality. Eg: Didymo 


Site that may be useful:
https://www.lawa.org.nz/learn

KCC - Who are we designing for?