A Game Invention
Recently added: a game I invented in 1988 called "Plots". After reading 'The Selfish Gene' by Richard Dawkins I thought I would try to invent a game system based around the well-known Prisoners' Dilemma. I also read 'The Mathematics of Games and Gambling' by Edward Packel, another interesting book which touches on the subject. As the playing system developed, I was helped by two friends and my brother-in-law. We met once or twice a week for several months to test and refine it.
A game of Plots in progress (board game version), 1988
Plots started out as a board game, but after consulting a buyer at W.H.Smiths in the UK, I decided to convert it into a card game – which I believe improves the system, as it meant simplifying some of the rules as well as making it cheaper to manufacture. My brother-in-law and I invested in the prototype and then we gatecrashed the National Games Exhibition at Earls Court in London in 1988. We got as far as sitting down to play it with the Board of Directors of Spears Games.
Related article: A game invention.
Devilish game – more interesting than the Wigan Monopoly game.