Not Your Pictionary

Final Game Instructions (2 Players):

Get Random Words:

• Open up on this computer https://wheelofnames.com/ to pick your words (words should already be there)
• Give both players 10-15 seconds to scan the list of possible objects before starting.

Roles:

• Choose one player to be the Director and the other to be the Builder (switch roles each round).

Gameplay:

• The Director randomly spins the wheel of names and writes down the object without showing it to the Builder.
• The Director gives instructions on how to build the object in Minecraft, but they can’t say what the object is.
  • Example: The Director can say “Build a tall wall with stone blocks” or “fill in that hole with water” but not “Build a house” or “Make a pond.”
• The Director can make 1-2 clarifications per instruction to specify how to perform the action if the builder is not performing the action as the Director envisioned.
  • Example: “Build a wall horizontally instead of vertically”
  • This does not mean you can add more actions to your instruction. For example you cannot say “Break the floor and replace it with stone”
• The Builder follows the instructions and guesses what they are building while they construct it, however, they are limited to 3 guesses for every instruction the Director gives.

Scoring:

• Count how many instructions the Director gives.
• The goal is to guess the object with the fewest instructions possible.

Switch & Repeat:

• After the round, discard the object and pick a new one.
• Switch roles and repeat the process.

End of the Game:

• The lowest amount of instructions given is your teams high score, go brag about it or something

Playtest #1 Notes:

On my first playtest, my two roommates swiftly resolved the game because initially Players created the prompt cards and thus they could easily guess what the generated words are after a very few amount of instructions as they had a hand in creating them. 

Playtest #2 Notes:

The second playtest went better as I changed the rules to allow for a randomly generated prompt that the director got through a website. However, as the game progressed it became clear that the Builder often misinterpreted the directions in unexpected ways and guessed wildly complex objects, leading to the game dragging on for a while. The players were also annoyed by the lack of a mouse, forcing them to play on a trackpad which is difficult in its own right. From this playtest I realized the following changes were necessary.

1. The director should be allowed to give instructions as a Clause, not to many clarifying questions.
2. Let both players have 10 seconds to scan the list before starting to reduce rounds taken and wildness of guesses.
3. The game should be played with a mouse.

Summary:

My work was inspired by how much Minecraft has been appropriated and turned into different games by many fans of the game. I was also inspired by pictionary, which in itself is a game that takes objects and appropriates them into an artist’s interpretation. I also wanted to take some inspiration from the Dada movements by twisting this version of Pictionary, ensuring the artist in charge of drawing is not the one in control of the direction they’re given leading to the game that was made.