The game I playtested is called What do you Meme. This game is very similar to Games of Humanity, which is also pretty similar to our game.
The theme of the game is around Internet memes and the prompts are very relatable to young people (18+), which is the target audience. The mechanics are very simple. For each round, a meme card is picked and each player plays the card with the funniest prompt to go along with the meme. The chooser decides who wins the round. The game is a multilateral competition game. It offers several kinds of fun: sensation, expression and fellowship. The main one is probably fellowship as it makes people laugh and brings them closer together.
These types of fun and theme is reinforced through graphic design decisions. For instance, the meme cards are designed to be very funny and can be interpreted in many different ways. which allows for creative space. The informal language and font used for the cards also reinforce the playfulness and “youthfulness” of the game. One really small thing that I liked about the design of the game is that we could place the meme card on a small easel for display. It made the meme look very presentable (aesthetics) and visible to everyone (practicality).
The game differentiates itself from other games in its genre by using memes as its main language. It is also specifically designed for the younger generations who are into memes. The game is definitely not for the politically correct ones or children, so perhaps a content warning would help.
The game does not really handle abuse, though it is not directly applicable. As long as people do not take the memes and jokes too far or target specific people with the memes, there shouldn’t be too much worry for abuse.
The game is very simple and great as it is. Perhaps one thing I would try to make the game better is to split people into teams which would increase the fellowship aspect of the game as people get to talk and know each other more.
