Game Design – Newest Boy Scout Merit Badge!
Just a few days ago, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) released a new merit badge that I think will be a big hit – Game Design!
Sign me up as a counselor!
I’ve written a number of times about being a scoutmaster for a local boy scout troop and how much I enjoy working with the young men in our area. I also take games with us on camps which work out great when sitting around camp. Week-long summer camps also have periods of down-time where the boys just hang out with each other. And having a few 2-player games on hand are great for challenging showdowns.
Now that there’s an official merit badge for Game Design, playing and exploring games at camp will serve a dual purpose – fun and learning. And isn’t that what scouting is all about – getting boys to learn and explore things that help broaden their horizons?
Game Design is the BSA’s 131st current merit badge. It covers how to create, test, and refine a game from one of four categories:
- Electronic (games for computers, game systems, or mobile devices)
- Outdoor/Athletic (sports or games like capture the flag)
- Tabletop (dice-based games, board games, card games)
- Pen and Paper or Role-Playing Games
Some of the requirements include:
- Critically analyzing games they’ve played
- Understanding terminology and intellectual property
- Proposing rule changes or alterations to known games
- Designing a new game
- Prototyping their game
- Play testing and refining the design
- Exploring careers in game development
Check out the full list of requirements for the Game Design merit badge.
I’ve also enjoyed reading about how the Game Design merit badge came to be. The process started about 4 years ago by scout leader and lifelong gamer as part of his Wood Badge ticket. One of the great things about the merit badge is that it encourages the boys to work together. While they need to do their own design, they need interaction for ideas and play testing each other’s games.
You can read more about the impetus and goals of this new scouting merit badge in the latest issue of Scouting Magazine.
Now I better hustle off to sign up as a merit badge counselor.
