Reinventing Hopscotch

PROS

1. Portability - The assembly process for the game is light, eliminating one entry barrier.
2. Player Restriction - Any number of players can play.
3. Balance Mechanic - The physicality of jumping and balancing is inherently fun.
4. Interest Moments - There are moments in the game such as the player picking up the object that are interest spike moments.

PROBLEMS TO SOLVE

1. Environment - While the tools needed to setup the game are simple, the game still needs a moderate amount of physical space that needs to be suitable for jumping.
2. Wait Time - The more the number of players, the more the wait time.
3. Lack of Meaningful Choice - The player has no choice on the number he is throwing his object onto. This also means that the game sequence is the same every turn.
4. Lack of Randomness - Regardless of player action, all eight numbers must be hit. There is no way to bypass one number through either chance or skill.
5. Limited Balance Mechanic - The manner of balancing stays constant throughout.
6. Lack of Interest Curve - Apart from throwing to a farther distance, the interest curve of the game stays flat throughout.
7. Lack of an Equalizing Mechanic - Players don’t really have the ability to recover from a poor start.
8. Player Interaction - Even though the game is technically a competitive game, in reality they are only competing against themselves.

NEW VERSIONS OF HOPSCOTCH

A) Word Association

• This game requires two or more players with a moderator.
• When one player is taking their turn, other players may NOT observe.
• Player is free to throw his rock onto any number during his turn.
• Player must associate the number he threw the rock onto, with a word.
• When he reaches the number he must say the word out loud.
• The process repeats with each player taking turns. Each player must call out the correct word associated with each number.
• The moderator tracks the correct association but does not call out whether a player was right or wrong in the sequence he called out.
• All regular hopscotch rules apply.
• The first player who gets the entire sequence correctly wins the game.

B) Odd or Even

• This game requires two or more players with a moderator.
• Each player picks either odd or even.
• Players take turns playing. Each turn the player either throws their rock or hops one slot.
• Players may throw the rock on any number.
• When the player reaches their rock, they may pick up the rock only if the sum of the two numbers fits the category of their selection. i.e. odd or even.
• If it does match the category, the number is marked as collected. The player then throws the rock either in front or behind them.
• If it does not, then they may choose to either reverse direction or proceed. In either case, players may not reverse direction until the end of the line is reached.
• The moderator tracks each player’s collected numbers.
• All regular hopscotch rules apply.
• First player to collect all numbers wins.

C) Move It

• This game requires two or more players with a moderator.
• Players take turns playing. Each turn the player either throws their rock or hops one slot.
• Players may throw the rock on any number.
• When the player reaches their rock, that number is marked as collected.
• The other player hops forwards or backwards by the number of spots just reached. Note that the decision is the other players.
• If the player reaches the end, he turns around and proceeds in the opposite direction.
• The moderator tracks the numbers collected by each player.
• The first player to collect all numbers wins.

PLAYTEST AND ANALYSIS : WORD ASSOCIATION

Issues identified during the first playtest were as follows :

• The manner in which players were primed before the experience matters tremendously.
• In my quest to identify whether the central mechanic of association was fun and whether I had a ruleset without loopholes, I failed to enforce the original rules of hopscotch, i.e. hopping and landing correctly etc.
• This was to my detriment as hopping while recalling was more engaging.
• The ruleset had several holes in it:
• What word should the player call out when both their feet land simultaneously two numbers?
• What happens the rock lands on a number with an existing word association?
• When the player lands on a number without an existing association, should he stay silent or call out the numbe?
• The thought process behind the moderator NOT calling out whether a player was right or wrong in the sequence he called out was to maintain a sense of mystery of what might be the incorrect association.
• However, it became apparent that this was frustrating players as there was no feedback of their success during the game.

The solutions and results of the second playtest were as follows :

• Original hopscotch rules were enforced more strictly. Player turns were disqualified when their feet landed on the lines.
• To further reinforce the tension of recalling and hopping an additional rule was introduced - The player may not linger on a given box for more than 3 seconds.
• The moderator called out success or false for every player turn to ensure feedback throughout the game.
• The hole in the ruleset was filled as follows :

• Players may call out the word associated with either number when their feet land on two numbers.
• For example, when the player lands on 3 and 4, he may call out the word associated with either number.
• This simplified the game and provided more leeway to the player.
• When the rock falls on a word with an existing association, the player must replace the association.
• This rule added depth to the game in keeping the players on their toes and not getting too familiar with the sequence of words.
• At first I had players remain silent when they land on a number without an existing association.
• However, this escalated difficulty in a manner that was frustrating to overcome as players now had to count the tapping of feet as well as pay attention to words called.
• So instead, I reverted to player calling out the number when it was not yet associated with the word.