Creative Writing Game on Shakespeare

I’m putting myself in the funny position of writing a review of a game that does not yet exist. Yet, this Kickstarter website promises that it soon will: funding targets have been met and it is currently in production and set for limited release in 2012. It’s based on this design document, which was downloaded from here.

The Play’s the Thing is a storytelling board game based on Shakespeare’s plays. Players are actors rehearsing various scenes from Shakespeare, and must try to alter the original in order to “improve” it. Hamlet could be recreated with Ophelia as the main character for example, or The Tempest might take place on the island of the Lost TV show.

I find the concept of the game excellent and an intriguing addition to a book club or a high school English Class. But how it would actually work is a little baffling to me. The design document doesn’t describe the win state clearly, but the game plays off of the struggle of wills between actors and directors in the theater world. If I understand it correctly, the players representing actors are struggling to impose their visions on changes that should be made to the play’s plot, characters, or setting. They do this somehow by earning and then spending points. Dice are also involved. I wish the video provided on the Kickstarter site had focused more on gameplay.

This is how I see the ARCS model working here:

Attention:
If you are a fan of Shakespeare, you are told that you have an opportunity to play around with his work. If you don’t like Shakespeare, you are given the opportunity to take his work and make it better.

Relevance:
This would be high if used in an appropriate setting. In a high school English class, it could be an opportunity to discuss how certain elements of the plays “work” and offer students the chance to probe for deeper understanding. How would Hamlet’s internal conflict change for example, if Claudius were not his uncle? Or if Claudius had not married his mother? Would Hamlet then be much more likely to seek revenge sooner?
In a creative writing situation the game could serve as a useful springboard as well.

Confidence:
To those players who may not be comfortable sharing their creative ideas and exposing them to criticism, the fact that each player is representing an actor with an agenda neatly subverts that. Here is a sample actor role description:

The Ingenue: Virginal and naive, you have the unforced heart of a child. Others wish to
shield you from the world, but know that your innocence is fleeting.

Onstage - The Ingenue knows how to win hearts. You may spend a story point
to reroll a failed Pathos roll.

Offstage - The Ingenue can inspire greatness. You may spend a story point to
allow another character to reroll a failed Logos roll.

Direction - At the Playwright's request, The Ingenue must place herself in
danger.

Therefore, the player is working to make story edits that fit the “actors” role, and may be less self conscious about being judged on the quality of his/her ideas.

Satisfaction:
The opportunity to come up with your own storytelling vision, and then being able to convince others to accept it would create satisfaction I think. In addition, starting with already established plays and then tweaking them could make the creative storytelling process easier for players who struggle with creative writing.

UPDATE: There is an older vintage game of the same name which is also based on Shakespeare. But this one is a different game.