BOARD GAME 1ST WAVE

1ST WAVE - a game about the beginnings of emancipation

The first wave of feminism is a term used to describe occurrences and trends regarding the

fight of women for equality in the 19th and early 20th century.

awards:

bronze medal in European Design Awards, student projects category

honorable mention in Graduation Projects contest

make me contest finalist, organized by Łódź Design Festiwal

game card game table top game feminism women suffrage

1st WAVE is a historical educational game for two players about the beginnings of women's fight for equality.

It addresses the lack of knowledge about the history of women's movements, which causes different problems, like the persistence of gender stereotypes, or the deficiency of female figures in the teaching of history who could be role models for female students.

Take the role of the first women's movement activists or their opponents to discover the arguments of both sides. Meet those, who were for and against emancipation, learn about the events that took place and lead your Party to victory.

The goal of the game is to clarify the arguments of suffragists and those, who opposed them. There are two Parties – Suffragists and Opponents of Emancipation – that argue using cards. On the cards there are quotes of people living in those days and historical arguments that were of the moment. There are also statements that have not been attributed to any particular person, but were popular opinions cited today by researchers of the subject. The game is designed for two players who alternately argue on behalf of each of the Parties represented in the game by the Decks of Voices and the Decks of Effects.

In the game the dispute is held over four fields called Domains which have a point value on the cards

and resemble the issues raised by suffragists:

social customs – the private sphere, norms of behavior
politics – the right to vote, governance
economy – work, the right to work
education – the right to learn, equal access to schools

Each turn one of the players attacks by reading out an argument from a card of the Voice deck. The defending side's task is to analyze the Voice of their opponent, and to choose and read out the best counterargument form their deck – one that regards the same Domains as the attacker's card. Then, both play their Effect cards to strengthen their position and compare the values of cards. If the attacking side is stronger, they receive points. The game is played until the players run out of cards or one of them gains 7 points.