The Thousand-Year Game Design Challenge

I've lost yet again to my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather.

New digital games come out almost every day. But how many people will be playing those games in a year? 5 years? 10 years? Let’s get some perspective – 10 years ago, the first Halo game was about to come out and now the series is “over”.

Chess, on the other hand, has probably been around for about 1500 years. Checkers, 5000 years. What makes a game last that long? Is it just easy to play? Abstract enough that you don’t have to know what Space Marines are like to get into it? Or something else?

If these questions puzzle you, check out The Thousand Year Game Design Challenge, open now until July 31, 2011. The sponsor is Daniel Solis, who bills himself as “Art Director by day, game designer by night,” and certainly comes up with some really elegant, simple games.

The prize is $1000 (of course). In case you missed it, the Challenge is here:

http://www.thousandyeargame.com

About the author

Scott Price has spent his professional life trying to make computers work for people by helping people play with computers. He has made games with GameLab, Scholastic Inc., the Institute of Play, his friends, and now with E-Line Media. He never turns down a chance to playtest a game or to babble on and on and on about design theory.

2 replies

Daniel Solis says:

March 17, 2011 at 8:16 pm

Thanks very much for linking to the challenge! Hope it encourages and inspires more great, long-lasting games.

If it helps, there is a more memorable URL for the challenge too: http://www.thousandyeargame.com
sprice says:

March 31, 2011 at 7:50 pm

Thanks, Daniel! I’ve fixed the link. I hope the Challenge goes well!