Founders are Punks. So are technologists, activists, standards-makers, and hackers. Their actions reshape the boundaries of the Commons. This game is for them, because even if Punks don’t need permission, they need a plan.
The Tensions Game is a protocol to improve sensemaking and situational awareness through play.
Players collect cards called Tensions from other players. Tensions – fundamental tradeoffs and dichotomies – are building blocks to model a Commons.
Tensions add complexity to models. This allows players to stress test their ideas.
The goal: to imagine a future where tradeoffs are made differently, so that better outcomes are achieved.
Punks can imagine new tools, forms of organization, social etiquette, software applications, laws, infrastructure, ethical codes, or simply personal habits.
By the end of the game, they should have an artifact that fits into the present commons, but also influences the context around it.