AFTERSHOCK: A Humanitarian Crisis Game

Started by Rex Brynen, July 21, 2015, 10:29:44 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Rex Brynen

I'm pleased to announce that AFTERSHOCK: A Humanitarian Crisis Game is now available from The Game Crafter.

AFTERSHOCK has its origins in the 2012 Connections interdisciplinary wargaming conference "game lab," which focused on humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. We subsequently developed it at McGill University as an educational boardgame. The game is already in use in universities, the Canadian Humanitarian and Disaster Response Training Program, the Chilean Joint Peace Operations Center, and the US Army.

AFTERSHOCK explores the interagency cooperation needed to address a complex humanitarian crisis. Although designed for four players, it can be played with fewer (even solitaire), or more (with players grouped into teams). Game play takes two hours.

The game is set in the fictional country of Carana:

QuoteCarana has suffered years of sometimes violent turmoil, and has only recently taken the first steps to tentative steps to national reconciliation and reconstruction. Poverty is widespread, government capacity is weak, and ethnic and political tensions remain high. Nongovernmental organizations and United Nations specialized agencies are active in the country, including a moderately-sized UN civilian police (CIVPOL) contingent.

At dawn today, a powerful earthquake struck the capital city of Galasi, causing widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure. Tens of thousands of people are in need of urgent aid and medical attention. At the request of the Caranan government, military forces from several friendly countries—operating as the multinational Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Task Force, or HADR-TF—are en route to assist, as are additional contingents of UN and NGO personnel together with relief supplies.


The game explores approximately three months of humanitarian operations, including both the initial emergency and a later period of early recovery. Because Carana is a fragile, conflict- affected country, relief and reconstruction efforts may also involve issues of social unrest and political instability, especially during the early recovery stage once the initial shock of the crisis has worn off. The primary objective of all players is to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the local population. However, players also need to maintain public and political support for their organizations, whether to govern (Carana), sustain the relief mission (HADR-TF), or secure financial support (UN and NGOs).



You'll find more on the game at PAXsims: https://paxsims.wordpress.com/aftershock/ (includes downloadable rules)

You can order it from Game Crafter here: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/aftershock

For more on the Connections conferences, see http://connections-wargaming.com (US) and http://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk (UK)

The game is produced by Game Crafter print-on-demand, so we're able to offer the possibility of game customization (modified briefings, customized cards, inclusion of organizational logos) for particular needs, for a one-time graphics set-up fee. Because we're terrible businessmen but good humanitarians, all profits from the sale of the game are donated to the World Food Programme and other UN humanitarian agencies.

If you have colleagues working in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, international development, military HA/DR operations, or similar areas, please feel free to pass on the links above.


Rex Brynen

For those wondering about our production experience with The Game Crafter—it was excellent.

The materials are very nicely produced, certainly up to the quality of a regular commercial game manufacturer. The cost per game is higher than it would be than for a regular commercial game, since it is print-on-demand rather than being published in the hundreds or thousands. Then again, you can order or sell as many copies as you like without any financial risk. It would even do nicely for one-off materials you wanted for a game, game mod, or campaign.

You can also modify materials almost instantly if you have errata, revisions, or later additions.

bayonetbrant

I can honestly say I was there for the birth of this one :)
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Rex Brynen

Quote from: bayonetbrant on July 21, 2015, 11:15:42 AM
I can honestly say I was there for the birth of this one :)

You were one of the midwives!

bayonetbrant

it was more like browbeating it out of some of the participants.  They were so hell-bent of nailing down the details of the intended audience that it took forever to get some ideas together for the actual game.
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Rex Brynen

We've been asked to run demo games for USAID and the State Department, and NDU will be using it too. We will never sell many copies--its a rather niche audience--but so far I'm very happy with the take up from the intended professional audience.

Rex Brynen