Cascade ===== A physical game that combines charades and telephone, wherein a chain of 4 players communicates a drawing from one to the next each using a different sense (touch, sight sound).
Download the instructions above and get a group together to play!
How we were inspired by "You only get one..." ============================ We created a cooperative game in which each player is limited to only one sense (touch, hearing, or sight) and must communicate in a chain, much like telephone. The restrictions on communication create challenging situations where each player must be very attentive to what they are observing, and what they are communicating to the next player in the chain.
Bahahhahah, this sounded great! So I got the roomies together and tried it. It delivered everything I expected :) Plus we started easy and got harder and the end results got more hilarious. The orator position was always hard (not only because it's naturally hard) but everyone laughed at the stupid things that he would have to say. Also we played like 12 rounds and only drew 2 penises so all-in-all an epic win. Well done!
Haven't played it, but it looks like a great extension to chinese whispers. It's also probably a great team building exercise. From what I saw in the demo video, the Actor should probably also have a blindfold, so that he can't see the drawing.
Michxioperz, there is no need to rate the graphics. Simply leave it as "NA".
fued: there was actually a great deal of thought behind it. We decided to do a physical game because it gave us much more time to play test and think of concepts, and didn't force us to spend hours coding. We went through many iterations of the game during play testing to eventually arrive at this version. In one of the earlier veraions, the point of the game was to control a blindfolded person by voice, and have them walk around the room and do some action that was communicated down the chain through charades. It ended up not having as much interaction, because once the orator understood the pantomimes, there wasn't much work to do. In this version, the ghost is forced to draw something bit-by-bit on the person in front of them (it's hard to feel a complex drawing on your back), which naturally divides the communication into small chunks in which everyone has a role.
Cappelnord: we intentionally let the actor see the drawing so the team could work to revise incorrect drawings. If a drawing ends up not being what the actor is trying to pantomime, we've noticed playtester actors often shake their heads frantically, trying to indicate to the orator that something has gone wrong. Now the actor is faced with the job of explaining what has gone wrong to the orator using only gestures. It would be interesting to try a version where no one could see the drawing, but it would mean that there is no feedback loop (ie, communication would be one-directional, just like telephone). Since the game only has 4 links in the chain, it would be a very quick game without that feedback loop.
Speaking of feedback, thanks for the great comments everyone! It sounds like many of the people who've had a chance to play it have enjoyed themselves. Let us know if you have any other rule-change suggestions.
I love the idea ! This will make a great party game. I could easily see this in stores as a boxed product, with cards and rules. You've got something really cool here! BTW: I updated my game to fix the game mechanics, your review helped me realize how important those mechanics were! Try it out if you get the chance!
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fued: there was actually a great deal of thought behind it. We decided to do a physical game because it gave us much more time to play test and think of concepts, and didn't force us to spend hours coding. We went through many iterations of the game during play testing to eventually arrive at this version. In one of the earlier veraions, the point of the game was to control a blindfolded person by voice, and have them walk around the room and do some action that was communicated down the chain through charades. It ended up not having as much interaction, because once the orator understood the pantomimes, there wasn't much work to do. In this version, the ghost is forced to draw something bit-by-bit on the person in front of them (it's hard to feel a complex drawing on your back), which naturally divides the communication into small chunks in which everyone has a role.
Cappelnord: we intentionally let the actor see the drawing so the team could work to revise incorrect drawings. If a drawing ends up not being what the actor is trying to pantomime, we've noticed playtester actors often shake their heads frantically, trying to indicate to the orator that something has gone wrong. Now the actor is faced with the job of explaining what has gone wrong to the orator using only gestures. It would be interesting to try a version where no one could see the drawing, but it would mean that there is no feedback loop (ie, communication would be one-directional, just like telephone). Since the game only has 4 links in the chain, it would be a very quick game without that feedback loop.
Speaking of feedback, thanks for the great comments everyone! It sounds like many of the people who've had a chance to play it have enjoyed themselves. Let us know if you have any other rule-change suggestions.
Maybe I can try it at Christmas.
BTW: I updated my game to fix the game mechanics, your review helped me realize how important those mechanics were! Try it out if you get the chance!