Launch
Students will launch the board game design challenge by remixing familiar game rules, analyzing how mechanics communicate success, failure, and growth, and recording an initial design direction they can refine with research and feedback in later phases.
Day 1
Research & Empathy
Students will gather firsthand evidence about how people experience success, failure, and recovery; organize those findings in a visual empathy artifact; and turn that evidence into a focused How Might We design brief that guides later board game prototyping.
Days 2 - 3
Prototype & Pitch
Students will turn empathy findings into rapid board game prototypes, test and revise rules through structured peer feedback, document a midpoint rule change, and prepare a concise stakeholder-facing pitch that explains how mechanics, scoring, and recovery systems communicate success, failure, and growth.
Days 4 - 5
Showcase
Students will present their finished board game kits to families and library guests, lead a live playtest that explains how mechanics show success, failure, and growth, and complete a brief final reflection using audience feedback and evidence from their revisions.
Day 6