Jack McClain

Industrial Design, 2019

Ludocracy is a tabletop game designed to address issues of voter participation, civic literacy, and political polarization in the United States. These rampant issues have caused the United States to be labeled a “flawed democracy."

Game design offers us a solution that encourages engagement and interaction while providing a safe space for players to learn and experiment.

In Ludocracy, four players compete in two teams to elect representatives who will pass policies that match the player desires. Three players play as voters and one plays as a lobbyist. The lobbyist is allowed to take far more turns than each individual voter, giving them more singular power. However, if the voters can manage to band together to share information they can make well informed decisions and win out against the odds.

Jack McClain initially started at Ohio State as a history major before switching to industrial design. After getting a chance to practice game design he got excited about finding ways to incorporate interaction and systems into his designs. He is looking forward to integrating designing for social good into his work.