Let’s make some introductions...

Contents
What is PlayDate?
Rules & Accommodations
How PlayDate Came To Be
Who We Are
Saying Our Thank Yous!

What is PlayDate?

We think friends should go on dates too!

PlayDate is your new favorite bonding game for building close one-on-one friendships! The game includes question cards with multiple options for different comfort levels and two sets of elegant stacking blocks so that you can engage in a fun activity while getting to know each other on a deeper level. With an opt-in approach to emotional intimacy, funny block-stacking challenges, and wonderfully competitive rules, PlayDate sets every pair up for a great time.

Rules & Accommodations

Instructions

How to Play

On your turn, draw a card from the deck.
Each card has two color-coded options corresponding to wholesome, intimate, imaginative, active, spicy, silly, and connective prompts. Pick one to engage with.
Once you have answered the question or completed the challenge, place a block that matches the prompt color onto your stack.
Take turns drawing cards, following prompts, and stacking blocks until one player finishes stacking all their blocks to end the game.

Notes

The deck contains wildcards to keep you on your toes. Follow the directions on the card to complete your turn.
If you're out of blocks in one color, choose the other prompt. If you’re out of the blocks in both colors, draw another card.
You can only touch the block you’re stacking, and once your block is placed, you can’t move it.
If your stack falls or partially falls, add the fallen blocks to your unstacked pile and continue playing.

Playing in a Group

Alternate Rules

Split into two groups. Make sure each person is sitting across from someone on the opposite team.
Each person will take turns drawing cards and stacking blocks on their team’s stack, answering the questions as indicated in the directions above. Alternate teams for each turn.
If a question requires an interaction with your playmate, proceed with the person across from you on the other team.

Playing with a Love Interest ;)

Make seductive eye contact while following the instructions above.

Playing with Limited Hand Mobility

Accommodations

Players with limited mobility can use both hands, or a preferred alternate method that feels good for them.
If your stack falls or partially falls, you may rebuild it before completing your turn, or ask your playmate to help.
If any of the cards will pose difficulty, draw a new one!

Playing with Color Blindness

Before beginning the game, ask your playmate to line your blocks up in a random order in front of you
Proceed with the directions above, stacking the blocks in order from left to right instead of stacking based on the card colors.
Answer the question that speaks to you! The color of the card will not impact which block you stack.

This cld b u

How PlayDate Came To Be

Every choice that led to PlayDate came from intentional teamwork and feedback. We centered our guiding values - joy, surprise, and beauty - at every step.

Here are some design choices we’re proud of:

PlayDate originated with a crucial insight from a series of interviews with the best players in the world... preschoolers! They showed us the joy of breaking a block stack.
We used psychological research on synesthesia to create the block shapes and match them intentionally to corresponding emotional themes (kiki & bouba forever!!!!).
Each card has two questions so that players can adapt the game to their level of vulnerability by choosing between two different emotional themes.
Some cards ask players to pose their own questions to their playmate to encourage organic connection.
We used resin for our blocks because it’s so sexy. And also because our testing found that it was the best weight for stacking.
Our question cards are color-coded, corresponding both to their block shapes and to an emotional theme:

Who We Are

5 Stanford students with a dream and $625 collectively

Hi Playmate,

We’re five college seniors, excited but nervous to enter the real world. We made this game to help us find friendship in unfamiliar places. With the rise of social media and digital gaming platforms, so many people our age turn to the internet to seek childlike joy. It’s why we’re one of the loneliest generations. We think real connection lies in the serendipitous, silly moments that only happen when you’re right there sitting across from each other. We hope PlayDate gives you a reason to do just that.

With love,
Ariella, Asia, Genevieve, Katie, & Sosi

Saying Our Thank Yous!

PlayDate would not be possible without the mentorship, inspiration, and energy of so many people. We especially would like to thank:

JR at Lilliput Preschool and the children who played with us. We are so grateful for your time, and for revealing a central feature of our game: the anticipation and excitement of a block stack falling
Our mentor Mike Simmons for being so generous with his time and expertise - thank you for pushing us to improve and reimagine our product in the ideation phase and for always reminding us to design for real people
The 20+ recent graduates we interviewed who told us about the fears, joys, and opportunities of being a social young adult with vulnerability and care
Everyone who played PlayDate in its many iterations. A special thanks to those who played our game back in the PLA days before it made sense and was actually fun
The PRL staff for talking us through many bumps in the road throughout our resin printing journey
Niyatt Mengis for helping us purchase all of the supplies for our project
Bill Burnett for his support and feedback about our game design throughout the spring
And, last but certainly not least, the Design Capstone teaching team for believing in our project, giving us critical feedback that helped our vision unfold, and scaffolding our learning these past two quarters

PlayDate

made with love <3

PlayDate You’re more than the sum of your parts