This week I played skribbl.io for my critical play. skribbl.io is a free online multiplayer drawing and guessing pictionary game developed and published by ticedev, and is suitable for players of all ages.
When picking a game to play for my critical play, I was surprised to see skribbl.io on the list for judging games, since skribbl.io doesn’t have a direct judging mechanic that is similar to conventional judging games like Cards Against Humanity and Apples to Apples. In these games, one player is typically judging something (typically cards) that all other players submit (sometimes without the judge knowing who submitted which card) and picking the best one that fits their criteria. In skribbl.io though, the only obvious judging mechanic flips this around, where all players besides the drawer can give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to the drawing, but this mechanism doesn’t even factor in to the amount of points players earn per round…
However, if we take a closer look, we can see that judging is a core part of the game, and is done implicitly by both the players and the game itself. When a player is chosen as the drawer for the round, they are presented with three options of things to draw, and have a certain amount of time to choose one option. In this phase of the game, the drawer must judge their own ability to draw each of the options, and choose the one that they believe the other players will guess based on their drawing.
After this phase, the drawer must now begin drawing the option they chose. In this phase, the other players attempt to guess the word based on the drawer’s drawing. The scoring mechanism of the game rewards higher points for players who guess the word quickly, and higher points for drawers depending on how many players guess the word. Because of this, judging is occurring implicitly in this phase, where players have to judge the clarity and accuracy of the drawing in order to determine their ability to guess the word quickly. The drawer is also judging the success of their drawing during this time as well, modifying, erasing, and adding to their drawing depending on the way the other players guess. If a drawing is clear and accurate, players are more likely to guess the word quickly and get more points which results in the drawer gaining more points, and if a drawing is confusing and poorly executed, players will struggle to guess the word and get less points which results in the drawing gaining fewer points. The game also introduces a mechanism where players can explicitly judge the drawer’s drawing by clicking a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down.” This feedback encourages the drawer to do better next time.
In this game where the judging is mostly implicit, the game’s mechanisms affect group dynamics and relationships in a few ways. In the drawing phase of the game, players work together to decipher drawings, fostering a sense of teamwork and leading to bonding experiences, especially if the drawing is poor or if the drawing references inside jokes or concepts that might be relationship-specific. On the other hand, players want to be the quickest to guess a drawing or have as many players as possible guess their drawing, leading to competition where players might try to throw other players off or improve their drawing skills. The game could also lead to frustration and tension if a drawing is poorly-drawn and no one is able to guess the word.
The implicit and explicit natures of judging in skribbl.io influences group dynamics and relationships by shaping interactions, emotions, and perceptions among players. These interactions, emotions, and perceptions could be shared between the drawer and the guessers, between the guessers themselves, or between the drawer and themselves, depending on the phase of the game and the outcomes. Whether it be through teamwork and bonding, frustration and tension, or competition, the mechanism of judging in skribbl.io affects group dynamics and relationships.
