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Light or Dark Board Game by Lan Zhou and Xinlu Yang
Light or Dark Board Game by Lan Zhou and Xinlu Yang
Light or Dark Board Game by Lan Zhou and Xinlu Yang
Light or Dark Board Game by Lan Zhou and Xinlu Yang
Light or Dark Board Game by Lan Zhou and Xinlu Yang

Bronze Toy · 2023

Light or Dark Board Game

by Lan Zhou and Xinlu Yang

  • Bronze A' Design Award 2023 in Toy
  • Estimated Number of Design Views: 40,460
  • Verification code 03CB29687E · Verify this award
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About Light or Dark Board Game

Light or Dark is a two player children's board game set against the background of the world energy crisis, including cards, dice, hourglass, chess board and other related components. Players need to complete the task of curbing the spread of pollution and building new energy stations with limited time and energy. The purpose is for children to develop a sense of time, concentration and comprehensive strategy in cooperation and problem solving, and to experience a sense of crisis, a sense of urgency, a sense of mission and a sense of victory in challenging and interesting games.

About the Bronze A' Design Award

Light or Dark Board Game is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Light or Dark Board Game is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Light or Dark Board Game splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.

Press Kit

Unique Properties
A two-player board game based on the background of the world's energy crisis, guides children to complete tasks in a cooperative way under a variety of constraints through various element settings. During the game, children need to look at the overall situation and plan rationally when facing and solving a series of problems. This tests and develops the child's sense of time, concentration and comprehensive strategy.
Dimensions & Packaging
330 mm (w) x 235 mm (d) x 53 mm (h)
Tags
children's board game, educational design, strategy, consideration of reality
Production Technology
The base block of the game board is made of colored beech, and the rest of the components are mainly ABS or PMMA.
Design Challenge
We spend most of our time developing the rules of the game, thinking about how to project the serious and complex energy crisis issues into a children's board game, so that children can experience a sense of crisis, a sense of urgency, a sense of mission and a sense of victory, making the game educational, challenging and fun.
Research
After the preliminary formation of the rules of the game, children over the age of 7 were invited to conduct a playtest. Light or Dark get their feedback on the game design itself and their rich emotional feedback. Some of them won the game by thinking calmly and adjusting their strategies in the face of the tense situation, while others failed in panic. But this also made them realize the necessity of environmental protection, which made the winning and losing of the game equally meaningful.
Inspiration
The problem of energy shortage and environmental pollution has a long history. In 2022, due to the combined effects of multiple factors, the global energy supply and demand was seriously out of balance. While looking for and developing more sustainable alternative energy sources, the concepts of energy saving, emission reduction and sustainable living should also be instilled in everyone's daily life.
Project Duration
The project started in December 2022 in Milan and finished in February 2023 in Milan.
Operation Flow
After randomly drawing a map card and completing the assembly, place the hourglass to start the game. Players need to use limited raw energy to plant trees, withstand storms, control the spread of pollution and complete the task of building new energy stations to win the game. Every time the hourglass lights up, it warns of the spread of pollution, and when the energy stations light up, it means the generation of new energy. Players can get random raw energy supplies by rolling dice, and can also share new energy generated by new energy stations with partner.
Image Credits
Lan Zhou & Xinlu Yang, Light or Dark, 2023

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