{"id":66,"date":"2020-03-29T19:59:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T19:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/chapter\/a-game-to-the-core-a-go-fish-analysis\/"},"modified":"2023-06-07T17:37:59","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T17:37:59","slug":"a-game-to-the-core-a-go-fish-analysis","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/chapter\/a-game-to-the-core-a-go-fish-analysis\/","title":{"raw":"A Game to the Core: A \u201cGo Fish\u201d Analysis","rendered":"A Game to the Core: A \u201cGo Fish\u201d Analysis"},"content":{"raw":"
\n\nThe name of the game I am going to analyze is \u201cGo Fish.\u201d This game was designed for anyone who wants to pass time with a simple card game. It also requires two or more players. The people playing this game would likely need to be able to read numbers. Because of this, the typical \u201cGo Fish\u201d game suggests players should be at least four years old. A regular, or \u201cstandard,\u201d deck of playing cards is used. \u201cGo Fish\u201d is a turn-based game, meaning each player has a set turn. The typical turn starts with the player asking any other player if they have a specific card. The player who asks for a card must also have this card before asking. If that player does have the card, then they will hand it over and the original player gets to ask for more cards (either to that same person or a different person). This goes on until the other player does not have the card the original player asks for. Once this happens the player is told to \u201cGo Fish\u201d and they need to draw a card from the deck.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nClark C. Abt\u2019s definition of a game reads \u201cA game is an activity involving player decisions, seeking objectives within a \u2018limiting context\u2019\u201d In \u201cGo Fish,\u201d the \u201cplayer decisions\u201d would be the players figuring out who to ask for a card or who to listen to. They also need to decide what cards in their hand they should ask for and when they should ask for each of them. The \u201cobjectives\u201d that the players seek would be\u00a0obtain a book of\u00a0cards\u00a0with the same rank from the cards they own.\u00a0For example, if the player has\u00a0four\u00a0cards with a three on them, then they would want to put them together on the table. They\u2019d want to\u00a0obtain books of\u00a0all their cards\u00a0before the other players manage to. The \u201climiting context\u201d that Abt\u2019s definition refers to is simply what we know as rules. In \u201cGo Fish\u201d there are a small handful of simple rules. Each player is dealt five cards unless there are only two players, in which case they are dealt seven. The rest of the deck is placed in the center so everyone can draw from it. The player who\u2019s turn it is will ask for cards from other players only if they themselves have that card. Players can\u2019t look at other player\u2019s cards. When a player gets a\u00a0book (four cards of the same rank), they must put those cards face up in front of them. When a player gets rid of all their cards in\u00a0books, they win. \u201cGo Fish\u201d contains every element of this particular definition.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nThe definition from the book\u00a0Rules of Play\u00a0by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman reads as follows. Games are a \u201csystem in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome.\u201d At first glance, it seems as though \u201cGo Fish\u201d doesn\u2019t fall into this definition, but English is an interesting language, making it so \u201cGo Fish\u201d actually fits perfectly into this definition. The game itself, governed by rules and turns, is a \u201csystem.\u201d The \u201cartificial conflict\u201d in this case would be the competition between the players to get the most\u00a0books. Even simpler, the \u201cconflict\u201d could simply be trying to empty one\u2019s hand as fast as possible while still following the rules. Speaking of which, \u201cGo Fish\u201d is defined by a small handful of rules. Each player is dealt\u00a0five\u00a0cards if there are more than two players and seven if there are only two players. Players aren\u2019t allowed to look at other\u2019s cards or lie about the cards they have. They must ask another player for cards on their turn only if they themselves have said card number. When a player gets a\u00a0book, they must put it on the table, face-up, in front of them. A player must \u201cgo fish\u201d (draw a card from the deck) when the other player doesn\u2019t have the same card they do. A player wins when their hand is empty and\u00a0all their cards are in books. The\u00a0quantifiable outcome would be the cards that the player\u00a0puts in books. There is a quantifiable amount of cards they can\u00a0do this with.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nGames are a \u201cform of art\u201d in which players - the people participating in the game -\u00a0 \u201cmake decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal.\u201d This is Greg Costikyan\u2019s definition. This is a seemingly simple definition that applies to any game we can think of, however, we see that the definition is more complicated when we give it a closer look. In order to figure out if a game is a \u201cform of art,\u201d we first need to define what art is. \u201cArt\u201d is something that can take many forms - physical or non-physical - in which the purpose is to provoke an emotion from the viewer. This emotion can be negative, positive, or neutral. Typically, I say that the artist needed to have the intention that what they were making was art, however, we will rarely ever know if the author of a game intended for it to be art. Therefore, I\u2019m disregarding this part. If we use this definition of art, then \u201cGo Fish\u201d, is, in fact, a \u201cform of art\u201d because one of the game\u2019s purposes is to elicit joy or fun from it. The next part of this definition is \u201cdecision making.\u201d There are many decisions to be made by players whilst playing this game. The players must decide what cards to ask for, when to ask for them, and whether or not they will listen to the other players asking for numbers (this delves into strategy relating to this game).\u00a0Game tokens\u00a0are something that represents the player\u2019s status within a given game.\u00a0The \u201cgame tokens\u201d in the case of \u201cGo Fish\u201d are the cards the player owns. This includes cards in the player\u2019s hand as well as any cards they put together to create\u00a0books.\u00a0These things are considered game tokens because they indicate how well the player is doing in the game.\u00a0The \u201cresources\u201d would be the shared deck of cards in the middle and other players\u2019 cards. There are three goals of \u201cGo Fish.\u201d The first goal is to\u00a0create books (groups of four) of cards\u00a0with the same number. The second goal is to clear your hand of cards by doing the former. The third goal is to\u00a0meet goals one and two before the other players do. Knowing this, we can see that \u201cGo Fish\u201d is a game under Costikyan\u2019s definition.\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\nGoing through all of these definitions and comparing them with \u201cGo Fish\u201d has made me realize that \u201cGo Fish\u201d will probably hold up against any viable definition of a game. No matter how one looks at it, \u201cGo Fish\u201d will always be considered a game. I feel as though one would be hard-pressed to prove it\u2019s not a game. This has also made me wonder how many games can be considered games when being compared to a definition. Going off of this, is a game still a game if it doesn\u2019t completely fit the definition?\n\n<\/div>","rendered":"
\n

The name of the game I am going to analyze is \u201cGo Fish.\u201d This game was designed for anyone who wants to pass time with a simple card game. It also requires two or more players. The people playing this game would likely need to be able to read numbers. Because of this, the typical \u201cGo Fish\u201d game suggests players should be at least four years old. A regular, or \u201cstandard,\u201d deck of playing cards is used. \u201cGo Fish\u201d is a turn-based game, meaning each player has a set turn. The typical turn starts with the player asking any other player if they have a specific card. The player who asks for a card must also have this card before asking. If that player does have the card, then they will hand it over and the original player gets to ask for more cards (either to that same person or a different person). This goes on until the other player does not have the card the original player asks for. Once this happens the player is told to \u201cGo Fish\u201d and they need to draw a card from the deck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Clark C. Abt\u2019s definition of a game reads \u201cA game is an activity involving player decisions, seeking objectives within a \u2018limiting context\u2019\u201d In \u201cGo Fish,\u201d the \u201cplayer decisions\u201d would be the players figuring out who to ask for a card or who to listen to. They also need to decide what cards in their hand they should ask for and when they should ask for each of them. The \u201cobjectives\u201d that the players seek would be\u00a0obtain a book of\u00a0cards\u00a0with the same rank from the cards they own.\u00a0For example, if the player has\u00a0four\u00a0cards with a three on them, then they would want to put them together on the table. They\u2019d want to\u00a0obtain books of\u00a0all their cards\u00a0before the other players manage to. The \u201climiting context\u201d that Abt\u2019s definition refers to is simply what we know as rules. In \u201cGo Fish\u201d there are a small handful of simple rules. Each player is dealt five cards unless there are only two players, in which case they are dealt seven. The rest of the deck is placed in the center so everyone can draw from it. The player who\u2019s turn it is will ask for cards from other players only if they themselves have that card. Players can\u2019t look at other player\u2019s cards. When a player gets a\u00a0book (four cards of the same rank), they must put those cards face up in front of them. When a player gets rid of all their cards in\u00a0books, they win. \u201cGo Fish\u201d contains every element of this particular definition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The definition from the book\u00a0Rules of Play\u00a0by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman reads as follows. Games are a \u201csystem in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome.\u201d At first glance, it seems as though \u201cGo Fish\u201d doesn\u2019t fall into this definition, but English is an interesting language, making it so \u201cGo Fish\u201d actually fits perfectly into this definition. The game itself, governed by rules and turns, is a \u201csystem.\u201d The \u201cartificial conflict\u201d in this case would be the competition between the players to get the most\u00a0books. Even simpler, the \u201cconflict\u201d could simply be trying to empty one\u2019s hand as fast as possible while still following the rules. Speaking of which, \u201cGo Fish\u201d is defined by a small handful of rules. Each player is dealt\u00a0five\u00a0cards if there are more than two players and seven if there are only two players. Players aren\u2019t allowed to look at other\u2019s cards or lie about the cards they have. They must ask another player for cards on their turn only if they themselves have said card number. When a player gets a\u00a0book, they must put it on the table, face-up, in front of them. A player must \u201cgo fish\u201d (draw a card from the deck) when the other player doesn\u2019t have the same card they do. A player wins when their hand is empty and\u00a0all their cards are in books. The\u00a0quantifiable outcome would be the cards that the player\u00a0puts in books. There is a quantifiable amount of cards they can\u00a0do this with.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Games are a \u201cform of art\u201d in which players – the people participating in the game –\u00a0 \u201cmake decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal.\u201d This is Greg Costikyan\u2019s definition. This is a seemingly simple definition that applies to any game we can think of, however, we see that the definition is more complicated when we give it a closer look. In order to figure out if a game is a \u201cform of art,\u201d we first need to define what art is. \u201cArt\u201d is something that can take many forms – physical or non-physical – in which the purpose is to provoke an emotion from the viewer. This emotion can be negative, positive, or neutral. Typically, I say that the artist needed to have the intention that what they were making was art, however, we will rarely ever know if the author of a game intended for it to be art. Therefore, I\u2019m disregarding this part. If we use this definition of art, then \u201cGo Fish\u201d, is, in fact, a \u201cform of art\u201d because one of the game\u2019s purposes is to elicit joy or fun from it. The next part of this definition is \u201cdecision making.\u201d There are many decisions to be made by players whilst playing this game. The players must decide what cards to ask for, when to ask for them, and whether or not they will listen to the other players asking for numbers (this delves into strategy relating to this game).\u00a0Game tokens\u00a0are something that represents the player\u2019s status within a given game.\u00a0The \u201cgame tokens\u201d in the case of \u201cGo Fish\u201d are the cards the player owns. This includes cards in the player\u2019s hand as well as any cards they put together to create\u00a0books.\u00a0These things are considered game tokens because they indicate how well the player is doing in the game.\u00a0The \u201cresources\u201d would be the shared deck of cards in the middle and other players\u2019 cards. There are three goals of \u201cGo Fish.\u201d The first goal is to\u00a0create books (groups of four) of cards\u00a0with the same number. The second goal is to clear your hand of cards by doing the former. The third goal is to\u00a0meet goals one and two before the other players do. Knowing this, we can see that \u201cGo Fish\u201d is a game under Costikyan\u2019s definition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Going through all of these definitions and comparing them with \u201cGo Fish\u201d has made me realize that \u201cGo Fish\u201d will probably hold up against any viable definition of a game. No matter how one looks at it, \u201cGo Fish\u201d will always be considered a game. I feel as though one would be hard-pressed to prove it\u2019s not a game. This has also made me wonder how many games can be considered games when being compared to a definition. Going off of this, is a game still a game if it doesn\u2019t completely fit the definition?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["lydia-finch"],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[63],"license":[],"class_list":["post-66","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","contributor-lydia-finch"],"part":63,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/66","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/66\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/66\/revisions\/67"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/63"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/66\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=66"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=66"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.usnh.edu\/creatinggames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}