Hi all, Newbie here, I'm looking for some general feedback on this game I am working on. any comments/feedback is greatly appreciated.
Bridges The Game
Introduction
The idea of the game came to me in one of our drinking sessions with a couple of friends. We had not noticed that we had already been drinking for at least 8 hrs, as the night progressed, the more topics we discussed had been much deeper (funny how that works). By the end of it all we had all grown closer as we had gotten to understand different points of views from each other from various supposedly controversial topics. The Bridges name doesn’t have anything to physical structures, it is because of the metaphor of either burning or building bridges with friends. I am hoping this game will help start conversations in difficult topics in an effort to increase awareness in the spirit of friendship.
Mechanics of the game
* There are a number (thinking of a 100 maybe or more) of cards with varying levels of offensive/controversial topics up for discussion within a group
* The group decides who will be the moderator, recommended is the most mature of the group. If uncertain, it could be the host of the party or a vote could ensure
* At any given time, the group could call for a vote who will be the moderator. The moderator needs to neutral and decide based on the discussion
* The cards are shuffled by segregated by level, the higher the level the more offensive the topic gets
* The moderator draws and decide whether they agree or not, by flipping their coins heads or tails/thumbs up or down (?). on the count of three moderator checks all and everyone discuss
* Up to the group how the discussions are held and how long, at the end of it the moderator decides if the topic should end and another card is picked. the goal is not to convert someone’s thinking but to present more arguments to the cause you believe in. (I figured if someone had to win, then bridges might actually be burnt, but maybe that’s fine?)
* Moderator decides when to finish or the group can collectively agree to disagree
The Drinking Part (optional)
1. If everyone agrees on the topic, everyone has a chug woohoo
2. If only one person is against/for the topic or severely outnumbered the it becomes 2 chugs
3. Each topic is limited to 5 mins or not(?)
4. Each card is levelled depending on level of sensitivity
Items
* Coin with agree or disagree or just a simple thumbs up or down maybe - defines if you are agree or in disagreement with the topic
* Pass cards - 3 cards that enable the moderator to pass on specific cards if he knows it is definitely offending to a person in the group
* Vote to replace the moderator - maybe a physical in game item to sign a vote should ensure
Cards (varying levels of controversy (not ordered))
1. Legalize Pot (recreational? or gateway drug?)
2. Social Media for kids (what’s the long term impact on kids? or should it continue as it prepares them for the future)
3. Video games and violence
4. Security is more important the privacy (Facebook’s users data being leaked, snowden case)
5. Animal Testing
6. Should people have the right to carry arms (with all the crime going on should it be revisited)
7. Prostitution (should it be legal everywhere? as a person has the right to choose what to do with their bodies?)
8. it’s safe to assume a person race based on skin colour (is there no safe assumption anymore)
9. Women should be in charge on raising their kids (wage inequality, gender roles)
10. Top 1% ruling the country (Should their be cap in the rich’s wealth given that there are so many starving? but does that undermine one’s hardwork and hinder progress)
11. Expensive Engagement rings (what is the societal norm for engagement rings, is 3 months worth of salary reasonable? Millenials have killed the diamond industry)
12. Genetic modification (altering of babies features when they are in the womb)
13. Gender Free birth certificates (LGBT debates on labelling a person by their gender)
14. Middle-class Flamboyant weddings (how much is too much?)
15. Luck plays a big part in success (how much luck contributes to success vs hardwork? is it a matter of just being in the correct time and place or does continuous hard work pay off?)
16. etc etc
What do you guys think?
Thank for this valuable reply, yes I was going after a similar concept maybe not too much of a game but more of a conversational party game. Maybe I should just ditch the moderator altogether, as it seems rigid in a way, no one's going to win in these scenarios anyways.