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I tried playing round 1 and 2 with the community in Ocean View. Just a heads up: to make this really feel like a game, it's helpful to first prompt folks to imagine what it is they are bartering for/trading and to state this to the rest of the group. We didn't emphasize this part enough and ended up with a situation where they were just literally swapping cards without really knowing why.

In round 2 (currency) it isn't clear to me what role the white papers play if they can't be exchanged for rewards. Can you clarify?

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author

The white papers are supposed to mimic currency - but aren't used to exchange for bean (because those come out of actual work - like the fruits of labor).

More prompting is important! and I agree that we need painted resource cards in set rather than playing cards .... would be so cool. Like color coded sets of 4 ....

you collect blue (Wood, Chickens, animal feed, and some chicken wire) to get a complete set and turn that in for a prize (beans = production ... like eggs)

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May 29Liked by Will Ruddick

Will, I love the concept of Barter & Beyond. Finally a way to FEEL the difference between those 3 approaches to trade.

What would be the minimum amount of participants to have a proper experience?

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author

Minimally 3 ....5-7 has a nice vibe - but we deal with groups as large as 20.

Give it a try and getting a feel for pooling is my main push - it's not intuitive for some until they experience it. And I really think custom resource cards would be better than playing cards.... someone will make some someday.

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