Popular: A Game of Scheduling
Popular is a game for three or more players, assuming you can get that many people together in one place at one time. It combines the thrilling strategic gameplay of Go Fish with everyone’s favorite part of pre-pandemic socializing: scheduling!
In Popular, players compete to schedule more Hangouts with their friends than anyone else—the first person to schedule seven wins! Players draw cards with time slots on them, like Monday Morning, Thursday Evening, or Sunday Brunch, and, similar to Go Fish, take turns asking each other if they’re free at this or that time. If the person you’re asking holds the appropriate card, then congratulations! You’re one Hangout closer to victory.
Players can also use powerful Effect cards, like Persistence, Cold Shoulder, or Social Media Creeping to gain an edge, or blunt the edge of their opponents.
Popular is in pre-alpha, but will eventually be available on Kickstarter—or not, because let’s be real, I’m a brand strategist, not a game designer. If you’re dying to play, you can download a prototype deck here, which the friendly folks at Superior Print On Demand will print for you for, like, $10.
Want to talk about game design? Want to try and find a time when we’re both free to hang out?