TSL Playground The Name Game Guess That Motivation Feed-it Chapter V Belonging in Humanity About Us

The Name Game

Introduction











PLAYER: > 3

TYPE: Table top with digital help

TIME: 45 minutes








This game wants to help teacher candidates practice creating a sense of belonging for everyone student. There are three main ways that the game tries to do so. For one, being called the right name and having the same opportunity of being called no matter the student’s name is Mary or Abasiekeme is important for the students to feel belong and valued. So the game first tries to give players more exposure to some possibly less familiar names. Proper pronunciations can also be learnt during the game.

Culture-responsive pedagogy is currently a good way to promote classroom belonging in a diverse environment. The second way in which the game tries to help is to teach the players knowledge about different cultures. As a possible result, their increased knowledge about different cultures may come in handy in future classrooms to employ culture-responsive pedagogy.

For three, the Name Game imitates the “name, originality and two fun facts” mode of student self-introduction. While playing the game, teacher candidates can pretend that they just got this brand new class of pupils and practice to remember everyone in the shortest time practicing fun memory tricks.

Game Objects

If you are trying to win the game, your objective should be winning as many cards as possible from your co-players. As well as preventing the game to end when someone has more cards than you do.

Game Field

In the middle of the game, the game field may look like the bellowed image. There are four players in the pictured game. As you can see, fun facts have been added to some cards, and player 2 is losing since they only have one card left.

Rules

  1. The game starts by:
    1. Shuffle student cards together with transformer cards.
    2. Distribute the stack of mixed student and transformer cards to each player. Each player should at least have 4 cards to start. Increase the starting number of cards to decrease the difficulty of the game (will also make the game longer).
    3. Get one student card from the remaining stack. One player introduces the student to everyone else based on the info on the card. Put the card in the center of the table face up.
    4. Get your phone ready and connected to the internet to learn name pronunciations.
    5. The game field at the very beginning may look like this . (The picture is taken with every player’s cards shown to show players may get a mix of transformer and student cards. In real game play, you can choose to reveal or not reveal your cards.)




  2. Each Player plays like:
    1. In clockwise/anti-clockwise direction, each player plays in turn. No skipping.
    2. The player has 30 seconds to decide:
      • Either to claim one of their students is similar to one of the people that are already in the middle of the table
      • or introduce one of their students and place it down.
    3. After each player plays
      • If the player chooses to only introduce one of their students and place it down in the middle, the game continues.
      • If the player claims a similarity, every other player votes whether it’s a valid similarity. Majority wins.
    4. After all players take votes
      • If the voting result says the player claimed a valid similarity, the player wins back cards between(including) the two similar student cards.
      • If the player’s claimed similarity is voted non valid, the student card just played will be put down in the middle, no card won.
      • If there is a tie in voting, the player can get the student card they just played back, but no other cards won.


  3. Other things player must or can do during the game include:
    1. MUST: When putting cards down, use the new card to cover both the name and country info of the old student card. Only the faces of the students are always visible to players.
    2. MUST: No similarity can be claimed with the same reasoning. For example, if one player has already won cards by saying two students are from the same region, no other player can use that same reason again.
    3. CAN: The player can choose to use their transformer cards at any moment of the game. Transformer cards can be claimed similar to any of the preceding student cards, and the user gets all cards between, including the transformer card and the card claimed to be similar. No voting needed for transformer cards. Follow “before use” section on the transformer cards to learn what is required before the player wins all the cards in between. Transformer cards must be discarded once used.
    4. CAN: At every turn, other than playing one student card, the player can also choose to draw one fun fact randomly and add it to any students in any player’s hands or on the table. Added fun facts stick with the student card for the entire game . Fun facts can be used to claim similarity once they are added. Empty fun facts cards are for you to make up realistic/creative fun facts.
    5. CAN: The player can choose to give one card to any other player at any moment of the game play . This is useful for the player to prolong the game when they are not the winning one. Each player can only give one card to others during one game.
    6. CAN: Tap the student cards near the back of your phone anytime to learn how to pronounce their names!
    7. CAN: Change rules! Like getting rid of the ‘non-repeat’ rule. Or generating a list of ‘stupid’ reasoning that can’t be used etc. Make your own game fun!


  4. The game ends when:
    1. When one user has no card left, the game ends.
    2. The player with the most cards at hand when the game ends wins the game!

Contents

  1. An IPhone with IOS 11 or an Android phone: You will use your phone to read the cards for pronunciation aid during the game.
  2. For IPhone users only, a NFC reader app needs to be downloaded. NFC TagInfo by NXP is a good one to try
  3. Wi-Fi connection
  4. Student Cards: 30 Cards that include student names and info of the places where students come from
  5. Transformer cards: Powerful cards that can be claimed to be similar to any student cards.
  6. Fun fact cards: Cards that describe student fun facts that can be attached to any student card during the game.

FAQ

Can I see the info on the student cards in the middle of the table?

No, you can’t. Trying to remember as much as you can about a student when they are introduced is the point. So pay attention when a card is placed down. You can’t go back to review the information later.

Can transformer cards be used multiple times?

No, if you are lucky to have one transformer card, you can use it to save yourself once only. Once it is used, it need to be discarded.

Should I always try to claim similarity with the card that is placed on the table the earliest?

Yes! The more cards there are placed between your card and the card you want to claim similarity with, the more cards you win. So if you think you have a card similar to the very first one on the table, try to claim it!

Can I claim similarity as soon as I see one?

No, you can’t. You have to wait until it’s your turn to claim similarity!

Can I use forever to figure out similarities between two cards?

No, you can’t. You only have 30 seconds to decide which card to play when it is your turn.

Is the color at the back of the cards signify something?

The colors used at the back of every card has no meaning. The colors are different because of pure aesthetic variety. The maps on the back though signifies the region that the student comes from.

Can I alter the game rules?

Of course! Getting rid of the ‘non-repeat’ rule will make the game much simpler. However, you can also try to make the rules stricter. For example, come up with a list of reasons that can’t be used. Or limit the reasons to only be about geography/ personal fun facts.

Examples