Join in both playtesting and game design for this session of Conflict Management 101. We will begin the session with an overview of play theory, move into a playtesting session of a prototype of a conflict management card game, and then provide attendees the chance to design their own conflict management game. This session is geared toward anyone who needs a little conflict resolution in their lives and wouldn’t mind playing a game in order to get it.
Learning Goals
According to Ken Thomas and Ralph Killman, there are five major conflict styles used in interpersonal conflict management. These styles are:
- Avoiding conflict altogether
- Forcing the situation until you get your way
- Trying to compromise on the situation
- Working to collaborate with everyone involved in the conflict
- Accommodating to others involved and letting them have their way
As humans, we experience conflict almost every day with the people in our lives, even in ways we don’t initially realize. The game takes inspiration from Thomas and Killman’s rating of conflict styles and establishes them as ways to win each round. Hopefully attendees will walk away with more knowledge in play theory, as well as an example game to use when dealing with interpersonal conflict.
