making it up as we go along

Close up of a game of making it up as we go along, with the rules in the foreground and the the player-created game board in the background
Close up of a game of making it up as we go along, with the rules in the foreground and the the player-created game board in the background Close up of a game of making it up as we go along, with the game board and various dice and wooden pieces in the foreground The end of a game of making it up as we go along played at the Overkill Festival in the Netherlands, 2022. The end of a game of making it up as we go along played in Dundee, 2022. Photograph of the making it up as we go along zine I made for the Overkill Festival. A papercraft bus made during a game of making it up as we go along played in Dundee, 2023.
Part of my Game Design as Play: Players as Designers research project.

making it up as we go along is a game about changing the rules and inventing new ones.

Where most games play out according to rules set out by their designers, in making it up as we go along you - the players - are the designers, designing the game as you play it.

How does it work?

making it up as we go along is a turn-based game consisting of 5 rules, all of which are written by the game's players.

On your turn, you will first replace an existing rule with a new one you have created, and then play through the current set of rules. There should always be 5 rules in play.

Turn structure

  1. Remove an existing rule
  2. Add a new rule
  3. Play through the current active rules

Game end

making it up as we go along has no pre-determined ending. It is up to you as a group to decide how and when you want the game to end. Usually this is done by introducing a rule that specifies how the game will end, but it is equally acceptable for the group to decide to simply end the game when you feel satisfied it has run its course.

The goal of the making it up as we go along is to make a game uniquely for the specific players at the table, at this specific moment in time, in this specific place.

More info

For more info see the making it up as we go along zine on itch:

Talks etc.