This is one of the themes in the Small Game Big Theme game jam, which is running from 21 May until 21 June 2021. Find out about the other themes here or read more about the jam as a whole.

Can you create a small game around the theme of Voter ID?

The theme: Voter ID

Voter ID is a form of voter suppression. People are asked to bring photo ID in order to vote. This makes voting difficult for people who don’t have photo ID, which overwhelmingly tends to be poorer people and younger people. Many people don’t have a passport and don’t drive.

In the UK the cases of suspected voter fraud are very, very low. In 2019 one person was convicted of voting twice. In the 2017 general election, the Electoral Commission received 1000 emails from people concerned about double voting, which turned into 5 actual cases of suspected possible double voting, and one conviction. That is out of 45 million people entitled to vote. In contrast, political campaigns have been fined for not being transparent about how they were funded, and candidates have been fined for providing false information about themselves.

Can you make a game about voter suppression, and particularly something which shows how voter ID stops people voting? It is likely to have a bigger impact on people with no fixed address, can’t afford ID, aren’t entitled to a passport but are entitled to vote, the elderly, or those who have recently changed their name.

READ Article here: https://unlockdemocracy.org.uk/blog1/2021/5/11/a-queens-speech-damaging-to-our-democracy

READ Article here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/12/the-guardian-view-on-the-voter-id-bill-cynical-and-hypocritical

What sort of game should you create?

The game should be small. It should be small enough that it can be posted through the mail as a letter, not as a parcel. That could mean:

• A social deduction game with no physical components
• A postcard or a greetings card
• A deck of (around) 20 or fewer cards
• A printable roll and write

It’s OK to ask the players to add some components if they are things which you’d reasonably expect to find in most houses. That could mean:

• A calculator
• Six sided dice (there are also dice rolling apps online)
• Coins to flip
• Pen and paper
• A packet of sweets/candy (such as jellybeans)

How to get involved

If you’d like to create a game, please just jump in! You don’t need any sort of credentials to get started!

Take photos of what you’re creating and share them on Twitter using the hashtag #smallgamebigtheme. If you remember to copy in @dissentgames then we will retweet. Please do share on all sorts of other social media too.

If you’d like to chat about what you’re creating then please head over to our discord server. There are some empty channels waiting to be claimed with games in progress.

On 21 June we’ll draw the game jam to a close. (Obviously that doesn’t mean you need to stop designing!) We’ll ask the people who submitted the themes for some feedback on what people have made. A few people have volunteered to speak about the games made on blogs, podcasts, or streams, so there may be opportunities to talk about what you’ve created.

Come and join in!