I thought I should take a break from my hiragana-haiku adventures and write out here the idea I had for how it would be possible to play Know-Your-Haiku as a card-deck game over Zoom. When I did my workshop last week, I had not figured out how to play it as a card-deck game and used a bingo game instead (here's the video of that bingo game session).
So, the problem with card-deck games over Zoom is that you cannot easily share the same deck, right? Well, what I realized was that everybody could have their OWN haiku deck! Why not? And that would make the game even more fun for the other participants because you would get to listen to the haiku poetry that other people like! So the real goal of the game is not so much to win but instead to learn from and enjoy the haiku poetry that all the players are bringing to the game.
One person in the group needs to be the "game leader" who supplies the Features deck and who is also able to answer people's questions about the Features. The other players can be total beginners to haiku; they just need to have read some haiku and found some poems that they like which they can use to make their haiku poetry deck.
Here's how game preparation would work:
Make the Haiku Poetry decks. Before the game, everybody would need to make their own haiku deck by copying out haiku poems on index cards. That's a great practice for really learning the poem, and haiku poems fit perfectly on 3x5 index cards. The way I do that is to write the source information along with any notes on the lined side of the card, and then I write the haiku poem itself on the unlined side. My guess is that each person should have a minimum of 20 or maybe 30 poems in their deck, and there is no maximum limit at all: the more, the better! Here are some tips for Where to Find Haiku Poetry Online.
Make the Feature deck. The person who is leading the game will be in charge of the Feature deck. I've got a Feature deck of index cards that I've made on colored index cards; that helps me keep them separate from the poetry cards. You can get a sense of the features by looking at the deck from the bingo game: Haiku Features. The feature deck for the game is similar, but bigger. For example, instead of just saying "the senses," there are separate feature cards for each of the senses (sight, smell, etc.). Likewise, instead of just saying "the seasons," there are separate feature cards for each season. There are also features that did not fit into the bingo game list (which was limited to 24 by the spaces on the bingo card).
Play the game. Here's how to play the game over Zoom:
Shuffle Poetry decks. Each person shuffles their own Poetry deck to get ready. (This includes the game leader, who has their own Poetry deck as well as the Features deck.)
Shuffle Feature deck. The game leader shuffles the Features deck.
Make "Pots" for each player. Each player needs a "pot" in which to put the cards "won" by each player, plus their own "pot" for the cards they win. They could put the cards in a stack with a sticky on top that has the name of the player, for example. Or on top of a piece of notebook paper with the player's name. Or in envelopes with the player's name on the outside. Whatever is most convenient! The players can get the "pots" ready together as a way of doing introductions: as each player introduces themselves, the other players can write their name on a sticky, on the piece of paper, on the envelope, whatever.
Sequence of players. In Zoom, it's usually easiest to have the play progress alphabetically (so Adira would go first, then Ben, then Cinzia, then Darius, and so on; for the next round, Ben would go first, etc.). The game leader should write down the names in alphabetical order to keep track of the sequence of play.
Draw Poetry cards. At the start of each round, each player draws 4 Poetry cards from their deck, placing them poetry-side up so that they can see all four haiku poems.
Draw Feature card. The game leader draws a Feature card and reads it aloud, providing an explanation as needed and answering any questions the players might have.
First player plays. If the first player has a poetry card showing with that feature, they "play" the card, reading it out loud to the other players. If anyone is unsure about how the poem includes the feature, they should ask and the player can explain. After the discussion is done, the first player draws another card to fill the empty space; they should now see four cards again.
If the player does not have a card with that feature, they pass.
* If the first player is able to play a card, they are the current winner of the trick.
Next player plays. If the next player has a poetry card with that feature, they "play" the card, replacing the card with another one.
If not, they pass.
* If the second player plays a card, then they become the current winner of the trick.
Play continues. This continues until all the players have had a chance to play a card.
First player: final play. Play now returns to the first player, who has an opportunity to play ANOTHER card with that feature if they have it. If they play another card, they should draw another card from their stack to replace it.
This second play by the first player ends the round.
Final trick winner. The final winner of the trick is the LAST player who successfully played a card with that feature. That person "gets" all the cards played for that trick: this means that each person who played a card during the round now puts that card in the "pot" for that player.
*If no player had a poetry card with that feature, there is no winner for that trick and the round is over.
TRICK WINNER EXAMPLE:
Adira goes first; she passes. Ben has a matching card and plays it. Cinzia has a matching card and plays it. Darius passes. Adira passes again. The round is over.
That means Cinzia wins the trick: Ben takes the card he played and puts it in his "pot" for Cinzia, and Cinzia takes the card she played and puts it in her own "pot."
ANOTHER EXAMPLE:
Adira goes first, has a matching card and plays it. Ben passes. Cinzia passes. Darius has a matching card and plays it. Adira has another matching card and plays it. The round is over.
That means Adira wins the trick: Adira takes the TWO cards she played and puts them in her own "pot" and Darius puts the card he played in his "pot" for Adira.
Starting the next round. Everyone should have four cards visible at the end of the round because you draw each time you successfully play a card, but if someone forgot to do that, now is the time to draw another card if needed. As each new round starts, all the players should be looking at four cards.
Players are also free to choose to put cards back into their deck if they want to exchange a card in their hand for a new one.
When each player has four haiku cards ready to go, the next round can begin, with the next person in the sequence going first.
Ending the game. The game is over when:
* a fixed amount of time has passed (decide this in advance)
OR
* a fixed number of feature cards have been played (decide this in advance)
OR
* someone runs out of poetry cards
Who won...? To determine the winner, each person adds up their total cards. So, Adira counts the number of cards in her own "pot" and then Ben tells Adira how many cards he has for her, and so also Cinzia, and then Darius. That gives Adira her total. Next, Ben counts the number of cards in his own "pot" and gets the numbers from Adira, Cinzia, and Darius, and so on until each player knows how many cards they won. The player with the most cards is the winner!
The game is best played with 3 or more players, but it can also work with just 2 players. With each person bringing their own Haiku deck to the game, everybody is learning and seeing new things, including the game leader!
If you are playing this game in person, you don't need "pots" to keep track of who won which cards. Instead, the winner of each trick could just collect the cards – although in that case, each person would need to mark their initials on their index cards in order to return cards to their owners at the end if wanted.
Here's a picture of what the various cards looked like around my laptop when Liz and I played this game together. From left to right: my Haiku Poetry deck (white index cards), the Features deck, unplayed and played (colored index cards), current Feature card (on the laptop keyboard), my four haiku poem cards, the "pot" of cards I've won (on a half-piece of paper with my name on it), the "pot" of cards that Liz has won (on a half-piece of paper with her name on it).
