Too Late for Annulment? It's Time for Divorce! The Game

[MarlaDesat]

Too Late for Annulment? It's Time for Divorce! The Game

[kickstarter="andrew-yoon/divorce-the-game"]

Divorce! wants you to use lawyers, plant evidence, and woo approval from your children to win this two player "regret simulator" card game.

Divorce! The Game wants to bring the joys of divorce mediation to your card table. The competitive two-player card game is seeking funding on Kickstarter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/kickstarter] to produce the first run of the game. Launched on August 28 and ending September 20, the campaign has already raised $3,242 of its $5,000 goal. The funds raised will go towards printing and shipping costs, as well as paying artist Anne Baltazar and graphic designer Sunny Nguyen.

Creator Andrew Yoon says, "Divorce! The Game takes everything you love about getting divorced, and turns it into a thirty minute card game." Each turn, players draw two cards, and must decide which card to keep and which to give to the other player. Cards can be assets like houses, cars, and wedding rings, all of which have a monetary value. Other cards, like lawyers, children, and Tax Fraud, grant special powers or help you win legal battles. The player with the most valuable assets at the end of the game wins. "At the end of the game, you're probably going to regret a decision you've made," says Yoon. "That's why we like to call our game a 'regret simulator'."

"There's something about getting divorced that really brings out the worst in people. No matter who you play against, the game is designed so that you're going to screw someone over," says Yoon. Jon Bolding, The Escapist's Tabletop Games Editor, got a look at the game at Munchkin [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/paxprime2014]."

[gallery=3116]

The campaign has one stated stretch goal. If $10,000 is raised, play mats will be added to the game to guide players on how to arrange their hands, and custom sliders will be added for tracking which parent is more loved by the children. Once the physical version of the card game has been produced and shipped to backers, a print-and-play version of the game will be made available for purchase, including all of the art produced for the game. Divorce! is targeting a January 2015 launch.

Divorce! is Andrew Yoon [https://twitter.com/scxzor]'s first tabletop game. He previously worked as Editor in Chief of Shacknews, East Coast Editor of Joystiq, and Lead Editor of PlayStation Fanboy. He will be touring Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, and New York in the coming weeks with Divorce! The Game.

Source: Divorce! The Game on Kickstarter [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1902488383/divorce-the-game/ ]


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[Fsyco]

Technically an annulment is an alternative to a divorce where the marriage is declared to never have happened, usually because it was, for whatever reason, not a valid marriage to begin with (ie, one partner wasnt properly divorced, or was underage, or both of you were smashed/stoned off your asses), but there's a couple other ways to get an annulment (mental incompetence or insanity, for example). I'd change that to 'marriage counseling', but hey, your article, do as you will.

Nitpicks aside, this game looks amazing. As a child of an extremely messy, bitter divorce, I'm glad someone is finally trying to simulate the experience. Some might say this looks awful and tasteless as a concept, but I can say from experience that this look very accurate (even a little bit tame compared to the real thing).

 

[kannibus]

I think I've just found the perfect wedding present...

 

[V4Viewtiful]

So many women will buy this game my mind can hardly imagine

 

[MetalMagpie]

Technically an annulment is an alternative to a divorce where the marriage is declared to never have happened, usually because it was, for whatever reason, not a valid marriage to begin with (ie, one partner wasnt properly divorced, or was underage, or both of you were smashed/stoned off your asses), but there's a couple other ways to get an annulment (mental incompetence or insanity, for example). I'd change that to 'marriage counseling', but hey, your article, do as you will.

I think their title works. Under many legal systems (including the UK and USA) non-consummation is a common grounds for annulment. So once you've consummated the marriage, it's generally "too late for an annulment".

 

[Fsyco]

Technically an annulment is an alternative to a divorce where the marriage is declared to never have happened, usually because it was, for whatever reason, not a valid marriage to begin with (ie, one partner wasnt properly divorced, or was underage, or both of you were smashed/stoned off your asses), but there's a couple other ways to get an annulment (mental incompetence or insanity, for example). I'd change that to 'marriage counseling', but hey, your article, do as you will.

I think their title works. Under many legal systems (including the UK and USA) non-consummation is a common grounds for annulment. So once you've consummated the marriage, it's generally "too late for an annulment".

Is it non-consummation or physically not being able to consummate? I'm not that familiar with the law (my dad got a legal degree so he could better litigate with my mom during their divorce, so most of my legal knowledge comes from him). That also seems like a wee bit of a stretch, but I suppose it works.

 

[Fsyco]

For realism, women automatically get the children, no matter what. Because sexism.

I'm curious if they'll have a 'falsify abuse' ability in a similar vein, since that's also exploiting sexism to one's own end.

 

[Andrew Yoon]

For realism, women automatically get the children, no matter what. Because sexism.

I'm curious if they'll have a 'falsify abuse' ability in a similar vein, since that's also exploiting sexism to one's own end.

Hi, I'm Andrew Yoon, creator of the game. Actually, one thing we were mindful of was to make sure that things weren't "gendered." That way, if two men or two women wanted to play the game, they can. I love seeing the roles that people assume when they play, and giving players the flexibility to be whoever they want was an important goal for us.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Technically an annulment is an alternative to a divorce where the marriage is declared to never have happened, usually because it was, for whatever reason, not a valid marriage to begin with (ie, one partner wasnt properly divorced, or was underage, or both of you were smashed/stoned off your asses), but there's a couple other ways to get an annulment (mental incompetence or insanity, for example). I'd change that to 'marriage counseling', but hey, your article, do as you will.

I think their title works. Under many legal systems (including the UK and USA) non-consummation is a common grounds for annulment. So once you've consummated the marriage, it's generally "too late for an annulment".

Is it non-consummation or physically not being able to consummate? I'm not that familiar with the law (my dad got a legal degree so he could better litigate with my mom during their divorce, so most of my legal knowledge comes from him). That also seems like a wee bit of a stretch, but I suppose it works.

Non-consummation can be due to a physical problem, but it also includes the situation where one person is simply refusing to consummate. In that situation, the other person can request an annulment. Interestingly, the person refusing to consummate can't themselves request an annulment.

Random bit of trivia: In the UK, same-sex marriages are different to heterosexual marriages in that they can't request annulment on the grounds of non-consummation. This is simply because no one in parliament wanted to have a debate on what should count as "consummating" a marriage between two men or two women! The law is fairly specific for heterosexual couples (penetration is required but orgasm isn't).

 

[Fsyco]

For realism, women automatically get the children, no matter what. Because sexism.

I'm curious if they'll have a 'falsify abuse' ability in a similar vein, since that's also exploiting sexism to one's own end.

Hi, I'm Andrew Yoon, creator of the game. Actually, one thing we were mindful of was to make sure that things weren't "gendered." That way, if two men or two women wanted to play the game, they can. I love seeing the roles that people assume when they play, and giving players the flexibility to be whoever they want was an important goal for us.

Well that's pretty nice of you, and I support that decision whole-heartedly. No need to bog the game down in some of the...nastier aspects of the real thing.

Also, I have a question. Are children just another asset you fight over, or is there some mechanic where you manipulate them to turn them against the other parent?

 

[Andrew Yoon]

Also, I have a question. Are children just another asset you fight over, or is there some mechanic where you manipulate them to turn them against the other parent?

Yeah, the game does make you do some terrible things to one another, but ultimately, I'm not trying to make a mean-spirited game. Hopefully, you're laughing through the whole thing--win or lose.

Children are assets that you fight over at the end of the game. Everything you collect either gains or loses favor for the kids. The parent that earns the most "love" from their children gets to take them--and the child support that comes along with them. So when you're contemplating "do I take the TV or the board games?" you also think about how these items affect the kids. You can also lose favor from the kids by taking the Sugar Daddy, for example. That card will give you money every turn, but is it worth potentially losing the kids at the end of the game? All the systems are designed so that you're constantly making a crucial decision each turn.

 

[Fsyco]

Also, I have a question. Are children just another asset you fight over, or is there some mechanic where you manipulate them to turn them against the other parent?

Yeah, the game does make you do some terrible things to one another, but ultimately, I'm not trying to make a mean-spirited game. Hopefully, you're laughing through the whole thing--win or lose.

Children are assets that you fight over at the end of the game. Everything you collect either gains or loses favor for the kids. The parent that earns the most "love" from their children gets to take them--and the child support that comes along with them. So when you're contemplating "do I take the TV or the board games?" you also think about how these items affect the kids. You can also lose favor from the kids by taking the Sugar Daddy, for example. That card will give you money every turn, but is it worth potentially losing the kids at the end of the game? All the systems are designed so that you're constantly making a crucial decision each turn.

That's really neat. This will probably end up being the first Kickstarter I ever back. This is just too good to pass up.

Also, I was wondering, what inspired you to make this game? Did you have some big divorce in the family (IE, you, your parents, grandparents, etc), or was it just "hey, let's make a game about divorce!"?

 

[Andrew Yoon]

Also, I was wondering, what inspired you to make this game? Did you have some big divorce in the family (IE, you, your parents, grandparents, etc), or was it just "hey, let's make a game about divorce!"?

I'm a child of divorce. My dad's been divorced twice, actually. But I don't think that's the reason I made this game. Actually, I've been working on a number of games for a while, and one of them was about imaginary numbers. After watching "Untying the Knot" on Bravo for five minutes, I realized that the people on that show are HORRIBLE. And then a lightbulb turned on. I realized that I can turn my game ideas into a game about divorce.

It became an instant hit amongst my friends, and I realized I had something. So over the next few months, I worked on refining it, and now here we are!