Skip to content
Spark & Whetstonethe grown-up commons

← Spark & Whetstone

The Wish and the Workshop

Children are being offered apps that turn a sentence into a game. Try one yourself first. Ask an AI tool for a game, then look at what came back: how many decisions did it make for you? A wish hands over dozens of choices. A workshop is where you take one back.

The lesson

  1. Ask any AI tool for a game you could play at the table tonight. One sentence is enough.
  2. Read what it gives you, and go down the list below: who made each decision, the machine or you?
  3. Pick one decision the machine made and change it. Write your new rule on the card.
  4. Play the game with someone, with your rule in it. Did your change make it better, worse, or just different?

Who decided?

The decisionThe machineMeNot sure
How do you win?
for example first to the end, most points, last one standing
What do you play on?
for example a track, a grid, a map, no board at all
Who goes first, and what is a turn?
for example youngest first, roll then move, one move each
Where does luck come in?
for example dice, cards, none at all
What can a player choose?
for example which piece, which way, when to stop
What happens when players meet?
for example nothing, swap places, send one home
How does it end?
for example a finish line, a time limit, a score
Can someone behind catch up?
for example a shortcut, a bonus for last place, no
What does it look like?
for example the theme, the colours, the pictures
What is it called?
for example a name the machine made up

Mark each decision: did the machine make it, or did you?

The rule I changed:

Before a child tries one of these apps, read the Platform Cards. On Spark & Anvil, children make the rules themselves in TableForge: no wish box, a tester instead.