Thread by @iamscicomm

Let’s talk about Science Games! Games boost engagement, they’re fun, and they’re a fantastic way to learn science! Want to make your own science games? Follow along!

I have experience creating successful science games like Valence, a self-published chemistry card game that’s sold over 15,000 copies and has been shown to boost learning and test scores. And I want to share my secrets so there’s more science games!

Best thing about games and learning is you can access rote learning - repetitive, dependable rote learning - without being dull. You engage in very repetitive action - but because you have a goal and the context changes, it’s interesting each time!

Think about it - what’s a full house in poker? How does a knight move in chess? How do you build a road in Catan? How much does Boardwalk cost in Monopoly? These trivia are etched into your brain because of your gaming experience.

So let’s get into nuts and bolts - specifically, puzzles and games. There’s an important distinction!

With puzzles there’s a “right way” to do things. There might be more than *one* right way. But after you finish a puzzle, or “solve” it, you can solve it again, quickly.

As a result, there’s a lot less interest in doing the same puzzle multiple times. Think about your favorite puzzle - you’ve probably put it together fewer times than you’ve played a game you’re not too interested in.

Games* are different than puzzles. With a game, through a combination of randomness and opponent interaction, it’s different every time!

*GOOD games. A lot of bad games are just puzzles! Or worse, Candyland!

It’s different every time with a game because games have either randomness, opponent interaction, or (usually) some combination of both. Chess, for instance, is pure opponent interaction - everything that happens is a decision!

On the other end is Candyland. The only decision you make in Candyland is what color your piece is! But it has (sort of) different results each time you play because of the shuffled deck. Randomness is why so many games have dice or spinners!

That doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun game, or even a good game, that relies on randomness. The thing that make solitaire a game and not a puzzle is the shuffled deck!

Here’s the thing though - games are basically made of puzzles, usually smaller ones. Think how to arrange the pieces on a chess board, how to build a settlement in Catan, how many pieces to connect in Connect 4. It’s a pattern with a “right way” - a puzzle.

How does this relate to science? Well, there’s a whole lot of “puzzles” in nature, too! What are the different organelles in a cell? How many planets are in the solar system? What are the steps in the water / carbon cycle? There’s patterns in your field, I promise!

Here’s how I did it with Valence. There’s a pattern in nature - atoms combine to complete valence shells. So there’s element cards with oxidation states in the upper left hand corner. Add those numbers to zero and you’ve made a compound - just like in chemistry.

Players know which compounds they’ve made by looking at the colors on the element cards - these colors correlate to their column in the periodic table. You know you’ve made a salt because you’ve combined a red halogen with a grey metal.

So you have an idea for your game. But what about the nuts and bolts of gameplay? Games - digital and analog - are essentially software. You’re writing a script that, when executed, will complete (someone will win) when certain conditions are met.

But you don’t need to be a computer scientist to design games - just play a lot of different games. This article breaks down different types (roll and move, worker placement, deckbuilder, cooperative). Try each to learn different frameworks.
nonstoptabletop.com/blog/2017/7/30…

Start with a game you like’s framework and build on that. For Valence, I started with the game rummy. Instead of building suits, you’re building molecules!

But how to make a game fun? Having engaging materials is super important though. A game with good art gets people excited about playing, and gives people stuff to look at when it’s not your turn. It’s Candyland’s saving grace, and why I put so much work into the look of Valence!

Another key aspect is interactivity! This can be tricky to design but if players can really interact with each other - think trading in Catan, bargaining in Monopoly, attacking in Magic - it’s just more fun.

With Valence, you can use your molecules to react with other players molecules and compounds. For instance, you can use your Acid molecule to reduce someone’s Base into a Water and Salt. They have fewer points, the game had a fun interaction, and everyone learned chemistry!

Something to avoid - you might think a quiz game would be a good way to scicomm. Quiz games are more like puzzles than games, so once you’ve “solved” it, you might feel reluctant to play it again. Give your audience a reason to come back!

@GotGeniusGames has a great suite of science games that focus on biology. Fun stuff! What are your favorite games? Have you ever made a science game? Or do you have questions on how to make your own games? Ask me your questions - or tell me your secrets!

ONE MORE THING (I forgot): prototype your games extensively! Test them with everyone you can, get as much feedback as possible, and improve from there. Your first benchmark is to make a game that can actually be completed - harder than you might think!

You don't need to make a full on prototype - if it's a card game, just cut out paper. Get the mechanics down first and worry about how it looks later!