Summary
Uses game design as an engineering challenge — introducing the idea that games must be engineered to be fun, fair, and workable, just like any other designed system. A creative on-ramp for engineering thinking.
Viewer safety
All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
- What makes a game fun? Is 'fun' a measurable success criterion?
- What constraints must a game designer consider (time, materials, age range, fairness)?
- If you redesigned a familiar game to make it better, what would you change and why?
- How is designing a game similar to designing a bridge or a machine?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: system, rules, constraints, criteria, design, playtest, iterate.
Try it: Design a two-minute mini-game using only a deck of index cards. Write the rules, play it once, identify one problem, and change one rule to fix it. That's one design iteration.