Grading System

Points and Grades

500 points are available. You need 300 for a D-, 350 for a C-, 400 for a B-, and 450 for an A-.

The grading philosophy is "Easy B, hard A." You'll find that if you do normal work for an IU student, you'll get something around a B. But you will not get an A unless you work as hard as people in the game industry do. One really important thing to realize: This is not a "competitive" class. If you work hard, you get a good grade. You don't have to look better or seem more impressive than others. Just work hard, to get the best grade that you personally can achieve.

Assignments

Final Exam. 150 Points.

We will have a final exam in the classroom. It will occur at the time and date specified by the registrar. The topics will include, material from the book, material from lectures, and rules and strategies in the games we are playing. It will be a comprehensive exam, covering everything in the course. You will take this exam in the classroom using your smartphone, laptop, or tablet. You will need a good wireless connection. It is your responsibility to test the wireless connection of your device in the classroom well before the exam. Report any problems to the IU network service at https://uits.iu.edu/connectivity Links to an external site..

Quizzes. 100 Points.

There will be five multiple choice quizzes at different times during the semester, as a way to practice for the final. Each one is worth 20 points, with 10 questions. The topics are the same as the final exam. Unlike the final, you can take these at home. They are open-book, open-note, open-game quizzes. You can work together. However, there is a strict time limit of 40 minutes per quiz. You should study for these, because they are hard to do in the allotted time if you have to chitchat with your friends or dig around a lot in your notes.

Play for Points. 50 Points.

To really know a game and its systems, you have to play it mindfully and carefully. You have to work hard at mastering the mechanics and strategy. You have to study a game the way you study a book. This assignment tests your ability to learn a game well enough to get a high score. At three times in the semester, you will play the game 7 Wonders with other students and record the points you scored. Your points for this assignment depend on the highest number of points you got. Check the syllabus for the exact dates of the play-for-points sessions.

 Attendance. 50 Points.

I will call the role promptly at the start of class. If you are there, you get credit for that day. If you aren't, you don't. Sorry! But that's how the game industry works. You have to meet your deadlines. You might as well get used to it.

Game team. 50 Points.

The game industry needs people who work well on teams, and this class does too. At the start of the semester you'll be assigned to a game team, and you'll work with these people throughout the semester to play and learn the games. At the end of the semester, all students will give a rating (1 - 5) to the other students in their play teams. This is taken directly from what they do in the industry. If you are getting low ratings, it means, people won't recommend you for future jobs. That is a big problem. Your grade will be based on the average rating of people in your group, plus a class participation rating that I will give based on watching how you interact with others. Points will be assigned for ratings like this:

Teach your games in class. 50 Points.

Everyone has to buy two board games for the class. We will play those games on certain days. You have to bring your game on the day it is assigned, and you have to help teach it to the other students. If you do, you get 25 points. If you just bring the game, but you're not ready to teach it, you get 15 points. You have to do this twice, once for each game. I had to set it up this way because we need those games in the class so everyone can play them and learn them. If people don't bring their games, then other people can't learn them and will miss a lot of points on the quizzes and the final. Sign up to buy your games here.

Teach a game outside class. 50 Points.

Take one of the games from the class and teach it to other students. This assignment is due at a specific point in the semester; see the syllabus. The normal grade for this assignment is 40 points; to get more, you have to choose a really challenging game and spend a long time teaching it, and, your proof has to be excellent. To get the credit, you must:

1. Choose a game from class
2. Teach it to at least two other people
3. Spend at least 90 minutes teaching and playing
4. Document the play session as follows
1. Write a report in Word .doc form
2. Tell me who played, what you played, when, and for how long
3. Include at least 3 pictures in the Word file. These must show you, your friends, and the board, at the beginning, middle, and end of the game. Submit no more than 6 pictures. Do not submit a zip file.

The normal grade for this assignment is 40 points; to get more, you have to choose a really challenging game and spend a long time teaching it, and, your proof has to be excellent.It has to be written well and clearly, with plenty of detail. No one gets very far in the game industry without being a clear, organized, detailed writer. Use an outline!

Here is an example of what your report should look like. Download Here is an example of what your report should look like.

Extra credit and make-up points.

There may be some opportunities for extra points along the way. I reserve the right to assign these, or not, at my sole discretion. I'm sympathetic to hard-working students who have a bad day and ask if there's some way to get the points back. I'm not sympathetic to students who act like they don't care all the time, then come begging for points at the end. Just be a good student and if you have bad luck, come and see me about ways to get more points.