3 minutes: a board game related to the environment
Project carried out in 2019 with Arthur and Joan
In a human-altered environment and a system that promotes the depletion of our natural resources, various designers, such as Dunne and Raby, are taking part in the current environmental debate. We wanted to make our contribute by making a board game which, through collaboration, raises awareness on this issue.
Conceptualization of the game
Board game trials
These tests of various board games allowed us to question their functioning: what are their themes? their universe? how do they play ? Who are they for? how are they presented? what are they made of?
Playground testing
After exploring the range of possibilities for creating games, we experimented different options for ours. These various tests led us to the concept of the 3 minute game: you are engineers trapped in the middle of the night in a factory that consumes a lot of energy. Collaborate and build a wind turbine before the general failure. You have three minutes to complete this mission.
Creation of the game
Once our final idea was found, we had to create the game from scratch.
Its board aims to make moving pawns difficult. That’s why it looks like a maze with a lot of boxes.
The pawns, made by stratoconception, in MDF, have a fairly simple and practical shape to take in hand, so that their movements are rapid.
The wind turbine, made of wood, is placed in the center of the plate. Its parts are hookable and detachable via pins. Thus, the players build it as the game progresses.
The tokens and cards are in printed paper, laminated on cardboard.
The storage box is made of cardboard so that it is not too heavy to carry. It is divided into two: a part for the wind turbine and the pocket containing its parts, and another part for the rest. The chips, cards, dice and pawns are stored in another, smaller box, which fits into the big one.
The explanatory documents, ie the rules of the game and the construction instructions, were printed on machine paper. The instructions have been laminated to prevent wrinkling in the box.
The game’s graphics reflect factory and engineering setting. For this, we were inspired by the appearance of old computer sites, composed of gray, shaded windows and color gradients, as well as the appearance of a factory, with yellow and black stripes and a silver box.
Wind turbine construction instructions
The game and its different parts