2 ms·

Not to get too far off topic, but the linked opinion piece got me wondering if any games attempt to model a shift from an open/inclusive culture to a closed/exc

by jt2190 12y ago

Not to get too far off topic, but the linked opinion piece got me wondering if any games attempt to model a shift from an open/inclusive culture to a closed/exclusive one, and I found this: > Mao... is a card game... in which the aim is to get rid > of all of the cards in hand without breaking certain > unspoken rules. The game forbids its players from > explaining the rules, and new players are often told > only "the only rule you may be told is this one"... > Specifics are discovered through trial and error. A > player who breaks a rule is penalized by being given > an additional card from the deck. The person giving > the penalty must state what the incorrect action was, > without explaining the rule that was broken. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_(card_game) http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_(card_game) (edit: Yeah, this is way too off topic. ;-) More generally, I was thinking about how the system of marketing skateboarding somehow optimized around young males. From a financial perspective it might make sense for a young, hungry company go after what appeared to be their most profitable market. On the other hand, by focusing so hard on serving one group, they may have failed to nurture a larger, more diverse marketplace.)

lmm 12y ago
The experience of playing Mao is just the opposite: you start off as a foreigner, with no understanding of what's going on, and you accumulate large numbers of cards. Gradually you start to understand, become part of the group. In the end you're able to turn the system to your own ends (or, equivalently, you are captured by the system), becoming one of the ruling class yourself. (I understand it's partly an allegory for the authoritarian Chinese regime: the rules are pointless, everyone knows they're pointless, but as you engage with the system you start to have an interest in the rules being followed, and in the end you use the rules to enhance your own status at the expense of naïve newcomers).

by jt2190 12y ago

lmm 12y ago

The experience of playing Mao is just the opposite: you start off as a foreigner, with no understanding of what's going on, and you accumulate large numbers of cards. Gradually you start to understand, become part of the group. In the end you're able to turn the system to your own ends (or, equivalently, you are captured by the system), becoming one of the ruling class yourself. (I understand it's partly an allegory for the authoritarian Chinese regime: the rules are pointless, everyone knows they're pointless, but as you engage with the system you start to have an interest in the rules being followed, and in the end you use the rules to enhance your own status at the expense of naïve newcomers).