Mechanics - Role Instruction Cards

Survivor Instructions (1 for each team)

Brainstorm and draw a picture of your Survivor profile together with your team: age, place, identity, studies/work, family, context. You do not know what scenario of online violence you will face. Once you are presented with a Scenario, each of your advisors will recommend a strategy and explain why it will work. You and your team then have five minutes to pick the best strategy for your profile before presenting it to the Public to win their support. You can only pick one strategy at a time, and as the Survivor, you have final say in your Team.

Advisors Instructions (1 for each team)

Given the Scenario, pick one strategy from your cards or create one of your own. You cannot propose a multi-step strategy. You can only show one option to your team’s Survivor and justify why you think it is a good choice. As a team, you have five minutes to discuss the presented options and help the Survivor make a decision. Your goal is not to have the Survivor pick your strategy, but for the Survivor to be able to argue their preferred choice well enough to get support from the Public.

The Public Instructions (1 or 2 if it’s a large group)

Listen carefully to the Scenario and to the Survivor profiles. As Survivor teams decide on a strategy, discuss amongst yourselves who makes up the online public and how these bystanders might affect the Scenario. Once Survivors present their preferred strategy, you can ask them questions. Individually decide which Survivor has the best response to the Scenario and give them your support token (optional), explaining your choice. Then collectively choose a Challenge Card to begin the next round. In the final challenge round, discuss possible conclusions to the Scenario. After Survivors present their final strategies and tokens are counted to see who had more Public support, the Public will present their preferred ending to conclude the game.

Game Facilitator Instructions (1)

Game facilitators must be familiar with all game instructions and get the game started by forming the two Survivor/Advisor teams, and the Public. Help the Public choose a good scenario for their context. Keep time: Teams will have 7-10 minutes to decide on a strategy and 5 minutes each to persuasively present their strategy and answer questions. Make sure Survivors are only presenting one strategy at a time. No round should last more than 20 minutes. The game concludes with the Public’s proposed closure to the Scenario, usually after three challenge rounds. End with a reflection on how each team felt during the process. The scenarios and challenges explored in this game could have been experienced by anyone, so it’s important for the Game Facilitator to keep a fun, light atmosphere as much as possible.

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