Whitewash is a serious board game which communicates the relationship between human actions and consequently the ecological damage happening to marine life specifically in the form of coral bleaching.

 

Project Brief

The design brief was to design a serious game on an issue plaguing our society/environment. After much brainstorming amongst the team, marine life was selected as the theme of the game. This game explores the relationship between man, fishes and corals. 

 

Tools used

• Office stationery (for paper prototyping) 

• Google Sheet

• Adobe Illustrator

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Process description

Through research, brainstorming and multiple iterations the team honed in on the idea for the board game. The game focuses on Coral Bleaching. We have color coded corals corresponding to different coral types, color dice for coral collection and a topographical game-board that reflects the heat zones/seabed layers. 

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Once I had designed the game rules, we started work on a prototype. After making the prototype we gathered player feedback via play-testing the game. ​

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Keeping all the player testing and feedback in mind, this version of the game took shape. The game is hard and may seem to be balanced against the players. This simulates the harsh reality of trying to build up coral colonies in the face of rising global temperature. This laid a lot of emphasis on player cooperation which is required in real life to face the challenge. Before players complete the game objective they will surely see the corals they placed bleaching. It's a stark experience when all those beautiful coral colors turn pale white. More than enough to explain the phenomenon and get a discussion started.