My dad came by this weekend and we were discussing game design (he's never made one, but I've made a few that I've never published). We got thinking about the boy scouts that he works with, and he was really hoping that there was a better way to teach first aid to the younger guys in a way that would be fun and engaging. As a result, I have generated some thoughts on this, and wanted some input on how to make it engaging as a board/card game.
Requirements:
-It must be cooperative
-The goal is to treat the person correctly, so silliness should be limited (especially considering the audience as well)
-The game should be easy to teach.
Here's how I approached the challenge:
-There's a jumbo deck that shows the picture of a victim on it and maybe a little text to describe the situation. Based on the information on the card, the players decipher what's wrong. This is the "Victim Card".
-There are multiple decks of "treatment option" cards, with a somewhat larger deck that's for general treatment ("Send someone for help", "call 911", "make a stretcher", etc.)
-At the bottom of the picture card, there are colored symbols that represent the additional decks that the players might need to tailor their response to the situation. For example, a "Victim" that appears to be bleeding could have a "Blood" symbol on it, so the players get those cards listed as possible options. This prevents them from having way too many options and prevents analysis paralysis (I hope).
-To make things more interesting, there are "complications cards", which also correlate to symbols on victim cards and to various "treatment decks". The complications could be anything like "you're alone", meaning you can't use cards involving other people, or "there is an impaled object" as part of a victim that's bleeding profusely. Specific cards become available as decisions have to be made regarding the situation at hand.
-Finally, the key is to do the options in order. THe back of the "Victim Card" will have the list of things that need to be done in sequence in order to complete the challenge
The key would be to make it fun and engaging, and with enough playable scenarios that the scouts don't just know the answer based on what they see on the victim card, but rather on what they have learned about situations
Here's the catch: I want to make the game fun, but I don't want it to be overtly competitive, or else the boys won't share knowledge with each other. My current thought is to have the boys divide into two teams and have one representative from each group be out laying down cards and making the decisions with the rest of the group coaching them. Both teams present their final order, and if your team was correct, you get one point. If both teams got the same order and were right,t he first to get there gets the point.
Can you think of any ways, other than points, to reward the players in-game? Perhaps the players can cancel out complications? Perhaps losing players are allowed a hint to know how many cards go down, or what to put in the second spot of the treatment order? Maybe winning players are restricted in the time they have to think about the situation?
I guess the idea is: is there any way to keep track of progress without having a runaway leader scenario?
