Let's make physical games you can play while taking a walk, noticing your surroundings and maybe finding some stories along the way!

The current year pandemic has been rattling our expectations of how things can get back to normal and physical games have certainly been affected. Indoor spaces have become dangerous and so we think of other contexts to game on. We know that in human history much was shared between generations as they walked together. We also know that when we walk by ourselves we feel like we have more space to think. This is the only creative constraint for this jam: make a game that people can play while walking. All other design choices are up to you. Make it for one person or twenty, or even for you and your dog. Make it work through an app on your phone or a printable tiny booklet or a song that provides all the structure you need. Say it's good for a quick patrol around the neighbourhood or for a really long hike. Does it need to be played in the rain, while it's dark, returning from work or while watching the sun rise? You decide. It can be a story game, live-action roleplay, word game, rhythm game, geo-caching, even all of the above. Just walk us through it.

You have the whole month of February to create your game (with an extra day on the countdown to account for different timezones). You can publish it in any portable format. There are no mandatory themes, no prizes and no judges, this is a community event, not a competition. So talk about your design with other walking game jammers by using the hashtag #WalkingGameJam on Twitter. Feel free to ask for help and help others, share ideas, trade skills and get involved in one way or another. When you get stuck, take a stroll around the block. It's good for you anyway. 

Here's a board with some helpful resources, including graphics for this event that you're free to use. Click here to open it on Milanote.

And before you choose to join or forget about this jam, maybe take a nice walk first? That's at least one thing you can take from reading this far. Thank you and good luck!