No 'us-versus-them mentality': Creator of Pandemic says board game has lessons for how to approach
No 'us-versus-them mentality': Creator of Pandemic says board game has lessons for how to approach
No 'us-versus-them mentality': Creator of Pandemic says board game has lessons for how to approach COVID-19
March 18, 2020
Summary
The creator of Pandemic says the collaborative nature of the board game could offer lessons in fighting the global COVID-19 outbreak.
"Unlike a lot of other games where you're working against each other, in Pandemic all the players work together to try to beat the game, essentially - you're working against the disease," said Matt Leacock, a California-based game designer.
"The game is really all about worldwide community co-operation and working together, it doesn't have an us-versus-them mentality," he told The Current's Matt Galloway.
Can a board game teach us how to deal with a global viral pandemic? In the game Pandemic, players are assigned scientists, medics and researchers to deal with outbreaks of diseases around the globe.
"We had played negotiation games in the past, and they did not go real well," he said.
With collaborative games, "We always got along great, and felt good whether we won or lost."
Leacock says the key to winning the game is balancing strategy, and effective communication.
Reference
No 'us-versus-them mentality': Creator of Pandemic says board game has lessons for how to approach COVID-19 | CBC Radio. (2020, March 18). Retrieved March 23, 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-march-18-2020-1.5501267/no-us-versus-them-mentality-creator-of-pandemic-says-board-game-has-lessons-for-how-to-approach-covid-19-1.5501557