Ladder · Band 1 · Grades 1–2 · analog · ≤2 pages

What is a rule?

What is a rule? · Strands SYS, PLY, HUM · E2, E3, E8

Materials: Paper and pencils; Index cards or printed cutouts; A small shared play space; Analog fallback: chalk on sidewalk works outdoors

Artifact: A one-rule game plus a silent watch log

Kills: A designer's job is to make the game fun.

Today

A rule is an agreement about what happens. Fun is optional. Clarity is not.

This lesson needs no screens. Print the cutouts or copy them by hand.

Print cutout: Rule cards (Band 1). Open the print view for true-size sheets (cards, boards, tallies). Analog fallback is always in Materials.
Rule cards (Band 1) — cut on dashed lines
Rule card

Write the rule, then watch someone play. Do not help.

Chance card

Write the rule, then watch someone play. Do not help.

Fairness card

Write the rule, then watch someone play. Do not help.

Change card

Write the rule, then watch someone play. Do not help.

Warm-up (8 min)

  1. Sit in a circle. Invent a game that uses one rule and an end condition.
  2. Say the rule out loud once. Do not demonstrate.
  3. Let a peer play while you watch in silence. Hands down. No hints.

Kill this idea early: your job is not to rescue the player. Your job is to notice what the rule actually does.

Make (15 min)

Write your rule on a card:

Trade cards with another group. Their job is to play your rule cold.

Watch (12 min)

Use the silent-watch habit:

  1. Write one prediction: “I think players will…”
  2. Watch without helping.
  3. After, write what they did (not what they said they felt).

Share (5 min)

What changed when someone else interpreted your words?

Artifact to keep

Keep the rule card and the watch log. They go in your portfolio / Backpack note later.

Misconception killed: “A designer’s job is to make the game fun.” → A designer decides what happens.

CC BY-SA 4.0 content · Print and keep — this paper is the record of learning.