Residence Life Clue

Next year my wife and I will be the Hall Directors of a small (and very old) Residence Hall on campus, that will house about 250 students. The building has a rich almost nostalgic feeling--not in a haunted sort of way, but in a "theres a lot of history here" sort of way--and there are many unique rooms artifacts to look at. The idea came to us to adapt the game of Clue into a theme/game for the RAs and the residents to enjoy.

Although Clue is far from my favorite game, I think the best thing about Clue, and the reason people continue to enamored with it, are the feelings of warmth, mystery, and nostalgia that game evokes. I think these feelings could help to make a fun and unique environment for the RAs and residents of our building.

Several ideas we have so far include:
-Labeling rooms with names like: "Conservatory" "Study" "Billiard Room"
-Giving each RA an alias of one of the people from clue: "Professor Plum" "Colonel Mustard"
-Hiding clues throughout the building for RAs to find on their duty rounds or for residents to find and redeem for some sort of credit. These clues could also be integrated with a hall newsletter, which could encourage residents to visit and get to know their RA or myself
-Using the theme "Get a Clue" coupled with resources about campus to direct student to different campus activities
-Having a mystery or game night as a community builder

I'm not sure how far to take this idea, but I think at the very least it could become a good foundation for a host of creative ideas, and would give an extra sense of identity to the people who will live here, and of course it will be fun for me too.

If you have any other ideas, let me know!

Thoughts about theme

In my last post I talked about some principles that were important in picking out a good game for couples to play together (either you with your significant other, or you and your significant other with other couples). Last night I was talking with my wife and her friend about games that we like to play together as couples and our friend mentioned that her favorite game was Wasabi! (Z-Man Games) because it was fun, but also because it had a cute theme that was done right.

If you are not familiar with Wasabi! it is a tile-laying game in which players attempt to complete recipes with sushi ingredients (As I write, I remember that this is now the second time I have written about Wasabi! Click here for a link to the earlier post--now over a year old!). It is a fairly simple game to learn and play, and its pretty fun as well. What I really like about it though, is that it is one of my favorite games to show off. Not only are the components well-crafted and fun (think little wasabi bowls), but also the theme stands-out. Its unique. There are hundreds of war and history (and history of war) games, but, to my knowledge, there is only one game about making sushi rolls.

I have often wondered why people play the games they play, and what it is about a game that makes it desirable to pick-up and try or to try again and again. Most importantly I ask, why are people so hesitant to try new games? While I still think that we are intimidated by the thought of learning a bunch of new rules (especially if we are just trying to relax), I think theme is a just-as relevant factor. A game with a strikingly fun and unique theme, such as Wasabi, will warrant a try even if it looks slightly complicated. A game about the fall of Thrace in the 8th century BC will warrant a glossy stare, at best, from the majority of people you attempt to introduce to it (pardon my complete disregard for actual historical events or places in this sentence).

Are you someone who likes to try new games, or who wants to introduce a new game to your couple's night? Think about theme. People will pardon the need to learn a few new rules if the game looks fresh, contemporary, and fun.