There were 25 participants divided into 6 groups / teams in the initial tests. The teams tested various styles of game play (mix and match, evaluate / crit / retry, and fastest)  geared at different learning outcomes. These formats were tested using a mixture of email and google forms. 

All the styles of play followed a similar framework:

1. Submit - nouns, excellent paint colors, adjectives or a combination of these.
   
2. Create - make a thing, go to a place, or dress up randomly based on the group’s submissions
   
3. Rate- rate photos, give suggestions, or match a paint color to the place.

There wasn't any active dialogue between the participants or urgency to submit responses. The interaction between members of the group was too limited and directed. This created a dynamic of parallel play rather than group play. Because of this, the tasks came across as creating more work for the individuals rather than encouraging play. Some users were slow to complete their tasks, on a few occasions I had to follow up with reminders.


The big breakthroughs in the game design were building in time constraints, adding turn taking, and connecting players on a group chat. Now the game was all about keeping up the collective streak. This aligned players towards a silly singular goal, and kept the pace consistent. Instead of simply completing a task, now you were showing off your creative flair to the group. I tested this format with two user groups of 5 participants. Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.