Compassion vs Cruelty - College English

Lauren Nicolella, Aysha Siddiquee & Greg Tasik

This is a card game similar to the format of Cards Against Humanity, but with fewer cards and many different prompts and situations that pertain to The Road.

The rules:

Each of the 4 players starts off with 8 cards, 4 compassion and 4 cruelty. During each round, the person who’s turn it is reads a context card and gets to judge their favorite answer in response to the scenario. They have the power of which card makes most sense to them, that may make or break the situation you’re put in. The player with the most scenario cards at the end of the game wins.

Objective:

Obtain the most cards in the end, while managing to survive through the different scenarios of survival.

How it’s played:

1. Shuffle two separate decks of 16 compassion cards and 16 cruelty cards.

2. Each player gets 4 cruelty and 4 compassion cards.

3. One player draws one scenario card out of the scenario card pile.

4. The other 3 players choose one of the 8 cards to respond to the scenario.

5. The player that draws the scenario card chooses which scenario they like best. (very subjective and random, such as how the characters in the story act)

6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 till all scenario cards have been drawn.

7. Player with the most scenario cards at the end of the game wins.

Categories of cards:

• Compassion cards (morality)- 16 cards

• Cruelty cards (immoral)- 16 cards

• Context cards (scenarios)- 8 cards

Explanation & Connections:

The main concept of this game is to make the personal decision on whether something is moral or immoral based on the scenario and decisions the players are given to choose from. In The Road, the man and boy had very limited options of how they could survive and get through another day, which is why we are giving each player a random choice at being cruel or compassionate. The scenarios we chose the players to engage with are either ideas based on the novel, or were major scenes that had taken place and affected both the relationship and well-being of the man and boy. There are connections to cases of starvation, cannibalism, violence, and relationship-building that the man endure on their journey together and it is up to each player to decide which way they would want to live. If it gets picked is up to the judge that round, so keep in mind of who is in charge of that since everyone has different views on survival.

Value System:

The value system is based or morals, and it is up to the players of what is valuable to them in the situation they are given. We wanted this to be interpreted as they are given tiny yet significant details of compassion, and more harsh cruelty cards since it is more of a reality in a survival setting. In The Road, there were encounters with different kinds of people who reacted differently to both survival and with others, and it is their choice to be compassionate or cruel to who they come across. The most valuable part of this game is obtaining as many context cards as possible, so making sure that the people playing you are conscious of how to win you over.

Risks & Rewards:

The main risk is losing all of your cards (if the game ends up going to every round) since there won’t be anymore options for that player and will ultimately die. Whoever has the most cards secures a safe spot in being alive, and is the first to go in the next match.

Compassion Cards- These are the cards that correlate with the situations and actions that occur to the Man and the boy’s journey that revolve around kindness.

Compassion: 16

1. Share half of your food rations with 1 person.

2. Allow 1 person to join you on your journey.

3. Help out 1 injured person.

4. Feed a wild dog you find.

5. Share a Coca-Cola with 1 person.

6. Find a new lighter.

7. Save 1 person from being eaten by cannibals.

8. Teach 1 person how to swim.

9. Use first aid-kit on an injured person.

10. You find an abandoned house to stay in.

11. Share multiple cans of food with 1 person.

12. Bury a dead body.

13. Teach 1 person how to swim.

14. Share your dream with 1 person.

15. Make grape flavored-water.

16. Snap out of a distracting memory.

Cruelty Cards- These are tragedies that correlate to the obstacles that the man and the boy have to face during their journey.

Cruelty: 16

1. Kill off the person you across from you.

2. Take the items and clothes of 1 person.

3. Get shot in the leg with an arrow.

4. Shoot at the army passing by.

5. Eat 1 person.

6. Steal all of the belongings from 1 person.

7. Develop a horrendous cough.

8. No access to food for five days straight.

9. Kill a baby to have a meal.

10. Kill the person to your right.

11. Get invited into a truck on the road.

12. You get distracted by a daydream.

13. Face the harsh reality that your partner will die soon.

14. Have false hope.

15. Murder a man who innocently crossed paths with you.

16. Get lost in the woods.

Conext Cards- These are scenarios that correlate to the situations that the man and boy find themselves in throughout their journey

Scenarios (Context)- 8

1. You find multiple people scared and naked in a barn, what do you do?

2. You are starving and are resorting to alternate methods. What will you do?

3. You wake up in an abandoned house and hear someone walking into the room you’re in, what do you do?

4. Everything you had was stolen and you follow the tracks of the culprit, what do you do?

5. You get discovered by the army, what do you do?

6. Another person on the road asks you for your help, what do you do?

7. It’s between your life and your partner both of you are to cross the bridge, but it’s only strong enough for one, what do you do?

8. There is a strong wildfire approaching the area you’re camping in, what do you do to survive?

Photos of game:

Close up of Cards