One of my Design class briefs involved the development of an actual working board game, whether it be a redesign of an existing game, or a brand new original game. I decided to work with the latter option. I was super excited when we received this project, and I knew exactly what I was going to do.
Prior to going back to university, I worked in a microbiological laboratory. I loved working with all the pathogens, but not so much with the actual scientists! Generally, they were all humourless jerks. But the microbes were awesome! I loved the fact that these minuscule organisms could kill everything else with such ease and efficiency.
Anyway, I digress. I figured that since I was no longer in the micro field, that didn't mean that the knowledge I gained had to go to waste. So I applied what I knew, to something that could be fun to the average lay person. I figured that only people in the medical, pharmaceutical, microbiological industries and hypochondriacs would be into this game, but I discovered that regular people wanted this game as well!
The aim of the game is to travel along your path, from your home square (at the corner of the board) to the "sterile zone" in the centre of the board, whilst trying to avoid contracting any diseases - there are 60 communicable diseases that the players can potentially contract: parasites to STIs; viral to bacterial. These illnesses vary in severity, some infections are mild, whereas, some are terminal.
The image you see is a digital mock-up of the actual game. I haven't had a chance to photograph the finished product yet, as I had to submit it not long after I completed constructing it.
What you see above is (left) the game and most of it's components; (centre) an example of a card which gives the player a detailed description of the disease they have just contracted, symptoms, and remedies (if there are any); and (right) a single-colour instruction manual, which contains a 6-page glossary of microbiological and medical terminology (because, for example: the average person will not know what a "zoonosis" is).
Sta.sh
