KEYS Scott Gajewski ART 389A Spring 2007

Contents Premise Getting Started -Players -Set-up -Materials Rules -Basics -Points System -Multiple Players -Game Variations Notes -About the objective -About the nature of the game

Premise Approaching the door, you get out your mass of keys. You’ve done this countless times before -- picking the right key for the right lock, sliding it in the right position, turning it correctly… or do you? Reach a hundred points or more to gain access through the Ultimate Door!

Getting Started Players This game can either be played with one player or with more than one player (suggested maximum of 5 players). For special rules with more than one player, see “Multiple Players” under the RULES section. There is no recommended age group for the base rules. See “about the objective” under NOTES for the exception. One extra person (who is not a player) or a program will need to keep track of score, turns, time (when applicable), etc., as well as demonstrate new locks during gameplay. We will call this person the Door Master (or DM for short),

Getting Started Setup If the game is played with physical representations (such as actual doors, keys, and locks, or miniature representations) there needs to be some level of equality. For example, if using actual doors and locks, they should not be ones regularly used by one of the players. If possible, the locks should be changed between game sessions. If the game is played in a virtual environment (as in a 3-D computer game), the program should show realistic representations of the doors, keys, and locks. The locks should be randomized between game sessions. The following will assume that the game will be played with physical, real-world representations.

Getting Started Materials These are the suggested materials needed for KEYS gameplay: -At least 9 different locks. -At least 9 different keys for the locks (classic keys). (Note: one key can open more than one lock if there is more than the minumum number of locks in play.) -At least 9 “doors.” (Note: One door can be used if the locks can be changed during gameplay, and if there can be at least 9 different ways to alter the appearance of the door, such as the color, numbers on the door, etc.) -Pencil and paper (to keep score). -A wristwatch (or other means of tracking time).

Rules Basics Memorize each lock’s key and its unlocking method to open the door and gain more access (and possibly more points). 1)Each player begins with 0 points at the start of play. 2)Every player is shown which key unlocks the first door and how to unlock it by whomever (or whatever) is acting as the Door Master. This should be shown and told clearly and accurately, but only once. 3)Each player is then shown which key unlocks the second door and how to unlock it by the DM as in Step 2. 4)Each player, while holding the two keys to the first two doors, attempts to unlock the first door. The DM keeps score, adding or subtracting points from the player as indicated by the rules in the POINTS SYSTEM section of the RULES. 5)Each player is then shown which key unlocks the third door and how to unlock it by the DM as in Step 2. 6)Each player, while now holding three keys to the first three doors, attempts to unlock one or both of the first two doors shown (the player may decide on how many doors they wish to try and open). The DM keeps score as in Step 4. 7)Repeat the process of the players being shown an additional unique door by the DM, followed by each player attempting to open the doors not just demonstrated by the DM. 8)The first player that reaches 100 or more points wins!

Rules Basics (cont.) - Players may not attempt to unlock a door they have already unlocked until they have attempted to unlock all the other available doors. (Ex. A player has 3 doors available to unlock on their turn, and in their last turn, they only unlocked the first door. They must try to unlock the other two doors first before unlocking the first door.) This rule carries over to every turn (Ex. If in the previous example, the player only decides to unlock the second door, in their next turn, they must unlock the third and the new fourth door before attempting to unlock the first or second doors). -Players may unlock as many available doors per turn as they wish, but may not attempt to unlock a door they have already unlocked in that turn.

Rules Points System Points are gained and lost as such: -Each correct choice results in the player earning 1 point (choosing the right key, choosing the correct position to slide the key, choosing the right method of turning the key) for a total of 3 points per lock. The player may not gain additional points for continually making the same correct guess in one turn. -A flawless unlocking of each lock is an additional point. -Each incorrect choice results in the player losing 2 points (choosing the wrong key, incorrectly positioning the key, turning the key the wrong way). The player may lose additional points for making the same incorrect guess in one turn, but not for making the same incorrect guess repetitively. -Players may continue playing with a negative score.

Rules Multiple Players 1) To determine the initial order that the players take turns, each player guesses a whole number between that the Door Master has secretly thought of for this purpose. The players that have guessed correctly (or closest to correct) go first, followed by the second closest, and so on. 2)After the first turn, player order changes for each turn. The player with the least amount of points goes first, then the second least, and so on. If two or more players have the same score, refer to Step 1 above. 3)Each player plays parallel to the other players. One player unlocking a door does not make that door unlocked for the player that follows. 4)When the first player reaches 100 or more points, if there are any other players that have not yet taken their turn, they may do so in order to see if they could reach 100 or more points as well. If more than one player does reach 100 or more points, then the game is considered a tie. 5)If a player in last place unlocks all the doors in one round flawlessly and is still behind by 25 points or more at the end of the other players’ turns, they may play a game variation of the DM’s choice as a “bonus round” and add or subtract those points to the appropriate player’s score. The new score affects their playing order as normal in the following rounds.

Rules Game Variations In addition to the basic rules, variations on the game can be played as well: MARATHON: In this mode, players continually play for points until each player fails just ONCE. Get the highest score! TIMED: In this mode, players has 1 minute to try and unlock as many doors as they can. Each player in this mode holds all the keys, and the Door Master does not show what key unlocks each door or how. No points are taken away for incorrect guesses. Get the highest score! VERSUS: (for 2 players only) In this mode, one player chooses a door and which lock and key will open that door, and the other player, with all the available keys (9 keys max.), attempts to unlock the first player’s personal door. Each player for this mode starts at 0 points. The points lost from each incorrect guess by the player unlocking the door are gained by the player who set the door up. The first player wins the round if they get 25 points, and the second player wins the round if they can successfully unlock the door before the first player gains. This mode can be combined with the Basic or Timed rule variations (alternating roles between turns), and with the Marathon mode if the player currently setting the door up follows the Door Master procedures.

Notes About the objective: The basic rules do not explicitly give any particular reward for reaching 100 points, other than the satisfaction of winning the game. The nature of unlocking a door, however, is access to something you did not have before – entry into a desired room, ability to drive, access to treasure, etc. If desired, some type of reward can be decided upon by the players when they gain access to the “Ultimate Door.” The reward could be as simple as a note saying they’ve won (to keep track of wins) or as complex as money. The nature of the reward, however, could certainly change the audience of the game (Ex. If the game were to be played with a child, a case of beer would not be recommended as the reward). All players should agree on the element of reward (if any) before play. Please use discretion. About the nature of the game: Due to the elements of doors, locks and keys, an actual, physical representation of the game would likely only work in a game show environment. The game could easily be adapted to a card system for home play, though the tactile element of unlocking doors with keys would be lost, and while a digital version of the game could retain the visuals and some of the “tactile” element, there would be a level of disconnect that is inherent in all video games.