Ryan

Rules/Gameplay: The goal of the game is to rebuild the destroyed city. Each building has a manpower (people) requirement before they can be built, has a predetermined time of construction, and produces a manpower boost upon completion.  There will a list available that describes each building’s req., construction time (in minutes), and payoffs in detail. Any number of players (rec. 2-3) may play.

Documentation:

This is a screenshot of some of the first buildings that would be rebuilt. It lists the manpower requirement, the construction time, and the benefits that come with completion.

I have included images of the game being played. They images depict the game in its early stages,

Artist Statement:

My game is intended to simulate the difficulty of rebuilding after a war. My goal was to show how catastrophic a war can be and that it is significantly harder to rebuild something once it is destroyed. The inspiration for this game comes from a previous antiwar game that I made and also from Yoko Ono’s White Chess Set. My previous game was about destruction from war. I think of this game a successor because it is solely about what comes after war. I also believe White Chess to be a powerful antiwar game that advocates peace. I modeled my game to also be an antiwar game. However, my game uniquely concentrates on the aftermath of a war and the difficulties of rebuilding after such a catastrophe.

My game also uses appropriation as the game itself uses a ready-made puzzle as a playing board. The puzzle was purchased online. As the players rebuild the city, they also build the puzzle at the same time. It is like an art piece within an art piece, which I think is really unique as well.

Required Materials:

• At least one full Jenga set
• Two rubber bands per player
• People

Rules and Instructions: This game can be played by 2-3 players.

1. Split the number of Jenga pieces evenly among all players.
2. Each player will now construct a fortification out of Jenga pieces. The player will also set one piece aside as the “ammo piece.”[BUILD PHASE]
3. The players will take turns attempting to destroy each other’s Jenga fortification with their “ammo piece.” The “ammo piece” will be fired at the defending fortification by using two rubber bands. (Use the rubber bands to create a slingshot with your index and middle fingers, then proceed to place the ammo piece in the rubber band slingshot and fire). [BATTLE PHASE]
4. Any Jenga piece that falls off of the defender’s fortification during the Battle Phase is now considered the attacker’s war spoil and the attacker takes possession of those piece(s).[PLUNDER PHASE]
5.  If any player loses possession of all their pieces then that player is eliminated.
6. Each player will continue to destroy  each other’s forts and rebuilding their own after it is attacked.  This cycle will continue unless if all the surviving players agree to make peace with one another and share all the pieces or until one player is left standing.

Note: Please do not use Jenga pieces to hit people .

Documentation:

The build phase

The battle phase

The plunder phase

Artist Statement

                        Throughout the Dada art movement there has been a consistent theme of anti-war sentiment that is represented through many of the artists’ work such as John Heartfield and Rudolf Schlichter’s “Prussian Archangel” and Kurt Schwitter’s “The Holy Affliction.” This theme served as my main inspiration of my game “Jenga Warz.” The game’s purpose is to simulate the never ending cycle of war and the destruction war brought.

Kurt Schwitter’s Merzbau piece “The Holy Infliction” represented his own feelings towards World War One. The piece is a chaotic combination of various objects attached to a human manikin which is reference to the many soldiers who had limbs amputated and got prosthetics limbs. Another striking feature of this piece is the German word for “insanity” written on a portion of the Merzbau sculpture. The violence, suffering, and carnage associated with the war did not make sense to Schwitter. I modeled this idea that war does not make sense into my game. I implemented a system in which the players battle over Jenga pieces (used to simulate resources or land) seemingly for no reason. A player may gain some Jenga pieces from attacking an enemy player, but they quickly lose it as another player will want those new pieces from themselves. The point was to show that the reasoning behind most, and probably all wars, are pointless as the gains are not eternal.

Many Dada artists were known for cutting out bits of newspapers and other texts to use in their art. Kurt Schwitter and Raoul Hausmann are examples of Dada artists who implemented this into their artwork. To me the cutting of newspapers symbolizes the destruction and fragmentation of the world they once knew. To me it represents the fragmentation of everything that once made sense to them in the world. The world was literally torn apart by the war. To model this idea of destruction in my game I literally implemented destruction. The instructions of my game stipulate that each player builds a fort out of Jenga pieces. Each fort takes time to build but an enemy is allowed to attack it and potentially destroy it. It is destroyed much like the world the Dadaist knew before the world was destroyed. My ultimate goal for this game and assignment was to reflect those ideas that I feel like the Dada artists were reacting to at the time.

Go outside on a winter day.

Make a snowball that you can hold in one hand.

Go back inside with the snowball.

Name your snowball.

Now:

A) Try to save its life and keep the snowball from melting. 

Or

B) Watch it melt and let it die.

Score (Artist Statement)

Documentation

Choosing Option A)

I went outside and made a snowball. I affectionately named it Steve.

This a picture of Steve shortly after being created by me.

Option A is about trying to save your snowball’s dear, dear life. Unfortunately snowballs tend to have extremely short lives.  The good news is that modern medicine has evolved to the point where we can keep snowballs alive inside giant ice boxes (A.K.A my fridge).

Here is Steve in its new ice box. I think Steve is enjoying it there.

Choosing Option B)

I went outside and made a snowball. I affectionately named it Olaf.

Hey look! It’s Olaf the snowball.

Option B is all about watching your poor snowball die in front of you. It begs for help, but all you are allowed to do is what helplessly as its life slowly slips away.

Olaf in the ER. It’s so sad. I can’t watch!

Olaf has been slowly melting for the past few hours. Olaf is now essentially a puddle of water.

It was nice knowing you Olaf.