JabbleScram is a game jam in which creators re-imagine the game of Scrabble. The resulting work can be anything you like: a board game, card game, video game, or other form of interactive experience. This jam is hosted by The Papercut Arcade https://thepapercutarcade.ca/ a collective of interactive artists based in Vancouver, Canada.

The following (optional) Jabblescram challenges are suggested:

• The theme is based on a word that is generated by drawing 7 Scrabble tiles at random, then arranging them into a word as you see fit.

• The work mashes together Scrabble with another tile-based game, incorporating either components and/or mechanics from both. The second game could be a traditional game like Dominos or Mah Jong, or could be a modern tabletop game; for a list, see: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/209620/tile-laying-games .

• The work includes or emulates an alternative form of text-based communication, for example, a ransom note, Morse Code, binary code, typewriter keyboard, text message or email, cursive writing or calligraphy, telegram, subtitles or closed captions, message in a bottle, graffiti, etc.

• The work incorporates a form of non-text-based communication, for example, American Sign Language, body language, graphics, music or song, mime (eg: Charades), etc.

• The work incorporates another language or alphabet, either modern, historic, or invented (eg: Esperanto, Klingon).

• The work takes its inspiration from language construction or form, for example, acronyms, slang (modern or historic), the “nonsense poems” of Lewis Carroll with their made-up words, the structural forms of poetry, etc. Perhaps the game pays attention to spelling and grammar – or deliberately doesn’t!
• The work is built strictly during the 26-day jam period. Each day the creator works on the piece, that day’s work somehow incorporates the current date’s “letter of the day.” (June 5 is the letter A, June 6 is B, June 7 is C... and so on.)

Workshops

(visit https://thepapercutarcade.ca/2020/jabblescram/. for links to these live online workshops)

Saturday, June 6 @ noon (Pacific Standard Time) – B is for “Beginnings.” Lisa Smedman hosts a workshop on the many possible mechanics that a tile-based game can use as its starting point.

Monday, June 22 @ 7pm (Pacific Standard Time) – R is for “Rules.” Jon Dawes hosts a workshop on making your rules as clear as possible. It starts with an “ask me anything” segment, in which each participant can have the host review a problem rule section. Next, participants will exchange rules documents and try to actually play the games, just by reading the rules. We will discover which parts of the rules were confusing enough to cause the players to differ from the author’s intent, and work on ways to fix them.

Monday, June 29 @ 6:30 pm (Pacific Standard Time) – Kay Slater hosts a workshop on Dada and chance poetry, and how art-making/process-based exploration can give way to new and interesting ideas (using games/ready-mades to inspire your art).