Gathering – a game idea

The Gathering is a game that fosters cooperation and pushes the processes of group negotiations and agreements to its limits.

The Gathering utilizes Loquiz Rogain game type as the base and chat as the crucial information channel.

It is best suited for small to medium sized groups that are looking to improve  cooperation, communication and negotiations skills.

The idea of the game is simple. At the beginning of the game teams get to see the map, locations and will be informed about how many locations and of what point values  are in the game.

The team can see and plan for what total sum of all teams points they are going to try to reach.

There are different prizes available, bigger prizes for bigger scores. However, before the start, teams need to make the choice of what prize (score level) they want to gain. Bigger prizes are more valuable, but if you do not reach your needed score, you will be left with nothing. Players can also set  goals as the percentage from the total.

After an initial commitment, teams are sent on their way to activate locations and gather points.

The important thing is that after 30 minutes all the teams need to gather back to the starting point. This is their first chance to reconsider their commitment.  By that time, teams have some kind of understanding if the goal set was achievable or if something needs to be changed.

The key is that you as a game designer must put questions up in such a way that it is impossible for any given team to answer all the questions correctly, so it is time to rethink the approach. The game should be set up in such a way that it is impossible for one team alone to achieve good prizes, but only with cooperation it becomes possible.

Difficult puzzles, impossibility to google questions, or trial and error type of solution findings work well.

Also giving extra information after answer comments or making teams to go after different colored pins to get a piece of information for solving a bigger puzzle.

Invisible minus areas also work  in this game- the  first team who stumbles accidentally on an invisible minus field has to do their best to warn others to avoid the area.

So, during the first gathering usually some kind of cooperation starts. Teams can change their goal and continue their actions until the third gathering. This is the last chance to change their commitment and take necessary actions to fill it.

In this game teams need a tool to communicate with each other. Use Loquiz built in chat functionality or give each team a walkie-talkie for seamless communication.A pen and paper to write down information from other teams helps the game a lot.

The main effect of the game is psychological. It is about making alliances, openly sharing information instead of competing, and working together for the common goal.

You can implement it yourself using Loquiz rogain game type included in the basic subscription. If you test it out, please let us know how it worked out.