Board Games?

Board Games? explores how design - at a smaller scale - can serve as a catalyst to encourage social interaction. Chess and backgammon boards are selected because chess and backgammon are rad! The first move in each design is to alter the aesthetic; the board is still recognizable as the setting for chess or backgammon, but it definitely doesn’t look like your typical board. Beyond making the setting look different, altering the aesthetic provides an opportunity to change the way the game is played. Standard behavior is influenced by visually impairing certain parts of the board, providing pieces to block certain parts of the board, and even allowing players to change the visual orientation of the board. These design moves position players to explore new rules to play traditional games, thus requiring them to communicate and maybe even collaborate!