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Looking for Connection (relational) Mechanics

3 replies [Last post]
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 23:37
Aerjen
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Joined: 08/28/2008

Hi everyone,

I was wondering whether you can help me out. I'm trying to make a list of "Connection Mechanics." And nope, I don't mean connect four or things like that. I'm talking about game mechanics which help the players connect to each other, for example by learning more about each other.

- Cards that have players tell something about themselves (sometimes it can be a lie and others should figure out whether it is or not). For example: "Friends" or "Two truths and a Lie"
- Cards with a statement (e.g. person least likely to become the new James Bond) and players vote on to whom it corresponds most.
- Cards that are used to guess/give preferences. Like "Apples to Apples" or "Cards against Humanity"

And now I'm stuck, because every other mechanic seems to be a variant of one of these. I hope I'm missing something here. So just to be clear: I am NOT looking for connection games, but for connection game mechanics.

Sure hope that the good folks from bgdf can help me out :-)

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Sun, 03/10/2013 - 18:31
#1
munio
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Joined: 11/12/2012
bonding is probably a more

bonding is probably a more convenient term

woud you consider 30 seconds a way to bond, as one player tries to give hints that he knows the second player will get

hmm perhaps something like wits and wagers where you can bet on how good other players now a subject

nothing else pop's to mind right now

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Mon, 03/11/2013 - 09:16
#2
Orangebeard
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Joined: 10/13/2011
Common traits?

What about something that has players matching up based on common traits?

For example, favoriter color is the same or both taller than 6 feet or have never been to Disney World, etc.

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Mon, 03/11/2013 - 11:50
#3
JustActCasual
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Joined: 11/20/2012
Know thine enemy, Know thyself

Aerjen wrote:
- Cards that have players tell something about themselves (sometimes it can be a lie and others should figure out whether it is or not). For example: "Friends" or "Two truths and a Lie"
- Cards with a statement (e.g. person least likely to become the new James Bond) and players vote on to whom it corresponds most.
- Cards that are used to guess/give preferences. Like "Apples to Apples" or "Cards against Humanity"

Really the third option is a subset of the other two: information that a person volunteers about themselves (interior information) and external perception of who a person is (exterior information). A2A or CAH are just using interior information to confirm or deny exterior information.

If you're looking for something beyond that, the group dynamic is a little bit different, but still uses the same essential components. For instance in Dixit has a complex yomi-esque web of exterior information: the storyteller must choose a card and clue based on their understanding of the group and how the group views them. Any kind of gameplay has some bonding aspects to it, as you compare your perception of how a person behaves to their actual behaviour under specific novel circumstances.

In summation, you have a couple of possible dynamics here:
-internal information versus external information (two truths and a lie, A2A)
-external information versus external information (most likely to...)
-external information versus behaviour (every game)

Theoretically you could have internal vs internal or internal vs behaviour but these don't really seem like games (more like personal exploration or puzzles respectively). Behaviour vs behaviour would not be a "bonding" game as it excludes personal information...it seems like the definition of a non-bonding game, but I can't think of anything that would be without any use of personal information that's not pure luck.

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