The Salem Witch Trials board game
Direction, Production, Research
7 weeks Project
Outline of your project concept + scope your intended target audience and supporting data
An inspiration board (sketches, images, color palettes, inspiration examples that are appropriate)
Appropriate research findings should be detailed to support your idea and your design strategy
I chose to focus on the science side of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in 1692 to 1963 in Salem, Massachusetts.
I wanted players of the game to go through what residents of Salem; young and old, had gone through to see if they could have survived the trials.
Each character would have an age, job, and stats to help them along the year.
They would encounter what residents of the time would have gone through, and the finale of the game is surviving the actual trials that took place.
(It's an unfair game.)
The most important part of a board game is how the board is made. And this was the most challenging part of the entire process for me. I struggled with making the board make sense, look good, and capture the fear the Salem residents felt during 1691 and 1692.
Above are the sketches and processes I went with my board.
I wanted to stick with the fear of the devil taking over their people and changing their minds. But also add in the rye, graveyard, prison system, and gallows hill.
I came up with this color palette because I wanted to play off of double vision the fungus on rye, ergot can cause for most who consume it. And add green color to really add in that gross mold that grew on their foods.
History Card & Rule Card
Illustrator | InDesign
The History Card would be the first thing one would open when opening the game box. It'll be a welcoming brief history of what happened, and who was affected by the entire year of it. I've included all the names of the recorded losses the year caused and that directly in charge of those mistakes.
The second sheet would be about the rules of the game and how to play. The character sheet on the other side has the steps on how to start the game and who you will be in the game. The sheets are reusable and covered in plastic so that you can keep track of your stats for the game.
Down below you can zoom in and read the information on the cards.
I created three different types of cards for this game. The trial card, which would be drawn during a trial to prove your sanity and loyalty to the community. I chose a pentagram to represent the card because of you a low chance of proving you are not being controlled by the devil.
To determine if you won the trial or not the judges will roll and add up their scores. You will also roll but add your stats to the roll to prove either your sanity, community, or religion.
The Puritan Cards are just regular cards you'd pick up along the way. They can help you on your journey or cause chaos for you. I wanted to use the Puritan symbol to represent how religion was used a lot in their political values and how that really skewed the bias opinion of the entire Salem community.
And finally the Prison Card. You would only get this card for failing a trial or possible Puritan Card. The prison system in Salem was messy and held a lot of people at once. Usually women and the elderly. 200 people were accused for being a witch in Salem so it isn't really that surprising to have their prison system failed and fill up as fast as it did over the year of the trials.