HexHeart Games - Someone Is The Poison

Someone Is The Poison is a game about trying to form positive communities and the difficulties and stresses in doing so. Participants who opt-in become part of a larger community that evolves and changes over time, either gaining Joy through the hard work of a few motivated individuals, or having it drained away by the titular Poison players.

This game came out of my frustrations at having tried to build and hold together several communities in the gaming, political and environmental spaces. The creation of lasting communities from scratch requires incredible effort, and a few key individuals to buoy everyone else up and spread enthusiasm about the cause.

If you've played Someone Is The Poison at an event, I'd really like to hear your feedback! You can let me know how it went using this Google Form.

Print & Play Materials available on itch.io here

The Print & Play pack contains instructions on how to prepare the materials for the game, printable game booklets, Joy Tokens, 6 different Badge options, and signage for the table to draw in new participants.

A Convention Art Game

Someone Is The Poison is designed to be played at a convention or large-scale event, with 100+ participants. Designed to be "encountered" at the event, participants who are intrigued can pick up the basic envelopes of materials and start playing straight away.

The game is played alongside whatever the larger event is, and participants who have opted-in are identified by simple badges. Participants are encouraged by the game to seek out one another and share a small interaction on each encounter, and it is these many small interactions that make the game's ecosystem come alive.

Someone Is The Poison is a game about joy, frustration, and energy. The prospective participants approach a table, with small envelopes of game materials and a limited amount of Joy. Those with high Joy can collect more, sharing it around to empower the community as a whole. But there are also those with no Joy, who leech it out of the community in every interaction. The community grows throughout the event as new participants enter, but it is up to the motivation of the participants as to whether the community holds together and builds itself up, or the Poison spreads.

If you're interested in running Someone Is The Poison at a convention or event, let me know! I'd love to hear about your experience in running it, and refine the materials to improve engagement with subsequent runs.

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