What's "The Internet of Things Board Game"?
The Internet of Things (IoT) Game is a collaborative strategy board game designed to reveal the hidden complexities of IoT-enabled systems, particularly around security and privacy. The game uses procedural rhetoric to make legible the independent yet interdependent relationships between human and non-human actors within connected home environments.
Who's it for?
This project targets both experienced IoT users and beginners who want to gain practical knowledge about how connected devices work. It is useful for designers and researchers focused on more-than-human-centred IoT approaches, as well as educators who want to simplify complex technology. The project also speaks to the wider games research community studying how board games can serve as design research tools.
Approach
The game is treated as a design object created for a specific research goal. The team developed the game over 14 iterations and 10 playtests with 22 players aged 25 to 60, each with varying levels of IoT knowledge. Inspired by Bogost's procedural rhetoric and Object-Oriented Ontology, the design uses a "constellation" metaphor where players move through physical home spaces while making digital connections. Vulnerabilities spread through these links, revealing the hidden interdependencies of IoT.
Contribution
This project looks at how board games reflect complex sociotechnical systems through their rules. It identifies three kinds of rules: formal, which are the written instructions; constitutive, which are the game’s basic logic; and social, which are the cultural norms around playing. These rule types are similar to how people interact with digital systems through instructions, embedded code, and social habits. The study finds that collaborative gameplay represents IoT interdependencies better than competitive play. It also shows how stories help players relate game scenarios to real privacy issues.
Why is it in the Observatory?
At a time when design research is expanding beyond traditional methods, it reveals the potential of games to engage participants and explore complexity in accessible ways. The work is significant for showing how tangible, playful formats can produce meaningful insights.
The project demonstrates a framing for how games might be utilised to fully explore emerging socio-digital technologies and systems.