“If You Had To… Activist Edition” is an interactive card game designed as a cultural probe to explore how individuals can engage in nonviolent activism within restrictive environments. The game simulates real-world constraints, prompting participants to devise creative, indirect strategies for protest and resistance. Through play, participants reflect on their values, discover new forms of expression, and contribute insights into the landscape of subtle activism.
Instructed by Caroline Matthews
Game Overview
Prompt
Understand that the design’s main and most important purpose is behavioral change :
- Individual change
- Local change
- Global change
In authoritarian regimes like China, North Korea, and even democratic nations like India, under certain conditions, traditional forms of protest face severe suppression, censorship, and retaliation. Public dissent can lead to arrest, surveillance, or violence, leaving many people afraid to speak out. There is an urgent need to explore safer, non-traditional methods of protest that empower individuals, especially silent or introverted activists, to take action without confrontation.
Research question
What are some nonviolent, out-of-the-box, and subtle ways of speaking up without getting in trouble with the authorities?
How might people brainstorm, coordinate, and apply such methods, whether as individuals, groups, online, or in-person?
Ethnographic research
The prompt was to design an ethnographic research tool that could uncover deeper insight. I created “If You Had To… (Activist Edition),” a cultural probe in the form of an interactive card game. It presents players with hypothetical protest scenarios under strict, real-life constraints, challenging them to come up with indirect, creative ways to respond. The goal was to spark empathy, build a sense of urgency around the topic, and also serve as an educational tool that encourages people to think about protest differently.
- People came up with creative ideas when they played in groups of two or more gave them the confidence that they could bring change, make an impact
- Made them want to take action, and wondered what would happen next
- The size of the card made them keep the answer short and less overwhelming
- The facts made the game more real
- Made players feel less overwhelmed by the term “Protest”
- This is a very good conversation starter
Case study report
- The questions need to be restructured and simplified
- Redesigning the group game format by following the game guidelines of “Cards Against Humanity”
- Adding symbols and icons
- Making it interactive and healthy competitive
- Keeping it fun by adding a consequence or making it a drinking game
- Expanding the topics and the list of countries
- Keeping the topics generic and relatable
Prompts should effectively communicate:
- What they are standing up for
- What are the restrictions
- And, what is the outcome?
Interactive and Fun!
Easy instruction card
Use mundane language
How might we question
How can we design an educational, interactive, and engaging tool for the general public and silent activists to empower them to take action safely and nonviolently?