Hello, and welcome to anotherblog post! In this project, the driving question was: how are thematic and mathematical elements used in board games?

The answer to this is: they can add a touch of realism, role playing, or just a cool element to your game. Thematic and mathematical elements can and are used in board games all the time, for example: chess; which uses medieval figures to add a slight bit of logic and realism to the game, which helps connect players to the game a bit more. In other versions of chess, they use other themes to make the game more applicable to different audiences. Or in games like pandemic: contagion, where tons of different chances are balanced to create a fun and diverse game.

Anyway, to get this answer, we had to do many activities, like learning about tectonic plates in order to make a game about them, doing a mind map, listing the scientific elements they will be in our game, and finally making actual game rules and a playable game and presenting them to other groups in the best way: playing them!

The first thing we did was make some rough game rules (which, in my group, weren’t used later on) on whiteboards.

• 

• 

And, as with each project, there were curricular competencies that everyone strived for.

The first: evaluating; demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of evidence. in the criteria for this competency, it states that there should be evidence of 10 key science concepts in your game, and game pieces should visually represent tectonic concepts. I think I this because my game had 10 science concepts: convection currents, mid-ocean ridges, volcanoes, earthquakes, ridge push, subduction, reverse faults, normal faults, and strike-slip faults. Speaking of which, click here for said game rules.

Onto the second competency, questioning and predicting. I think I used most of my class time efficiently and well, because I finished all work on time and did most of it in class. I also handed in first drafts of my work early for feedback.

The third competency, understanding and solving, is all about demonstrating understanding of mathematical concepts through play, inquiry, and problem solving. I think I did this because my game has lots of probability that is calculated at the end of the rules. At the end of my rules, there are multiple probabilities calculated correctly, and there are examples of turn outcomes stated.