Insomnia is a condition that many people experience at some point in their lives. It's an inability to fall asleep, even when your body is exhausted. Often, it manifests through an overactive mind that is thinking too fast or unable to "turn off." Some people are able to fall asleep but cannot manage to stay asleep for any length of time. Whatever the symptoms are, one thing is certain. Insomnia is not fun. Unless you make a card game out of it!

You were asked to make a game using a deck of cards that represented insomnia through gameplay mechanics. A similar type of game that can be considered to have abstract mechanics that are explained through "story" is chess. Different pieces can attack in different ways, such as pawns being only able to attack at diagonals since they always have a shield in front of them. Representing a fundamental idea or theme through mechanics is a great way to strength game design with the aesthetic of the game. Combining aesthetics and design can make the game feel more meaningful or genuine, and more importantly more cohesive. This is one of the reasons a game like BioShock works so well.

With the entries (of which an overwhelming number were titled "Counting Sheep") you took many different approaches to represent insomnia. Some went with the literal concept of counting sheep. Others represented stress and work in the life, things that often cause insomnia, with the goal of the game to get rid of the stress.

The top few entries did a very good job of not only introducing what sounds like a fun game to play, but also relating it to being unable to fall asleep or ways to increase the odds of falling asleep.

We were surprised to see few entries based around a single-player game, since insomnia usually only affects one person (and maybe a partner in the same bed). The concepts of insomnia can be explored much further, such as taking the easy route to fall asleep (drinking, sleeping pills, drugs) that could have immediate benefits but long-term harm the player's chances of winning. Another realm is the lack of productivity the day after insomnia, or the vicious cycle that poor sleep patterns that insomniacs often fall into. The game was not limited to revolving around trying to fall asleep, though that's certainly a good and natural starting point.

The best part of these card games is anyone can play them right now. I encourage you to try playing the top three. See how they feel, and even give some feedback to the designers via the forum.

Best Entries
Ned Elwell, Counting Sheep (or Getting Into Bed) (see page 2)
This entry from Ned Elwell relies on using cards to complete a picture of a person lying in bed. But in terms of cards, the player needs to get two specific cards and two pairs, and then play them at the appropriate time. It's an original idea that used the concept of insomnia fairly naturally.

Murray Chu, Writer for Beefjack.com and Aspiring Producer, Counting Sheep (or Dial Down) (see page 3)
Murray Chu's sorting and organizing game starts out with a fairly straightforward premise, but may make the player feel tired and frustrated, a good thing when the theme of the game is insomnia. Check out the photos Chu included in his entry. They go a long way toward explaining both gameplay and scoring.

Tj'ièn Twijnstra, Game Designer at Playlogic Game Factory, Restless Night (see page 4)
This line may have been what put Tj'ièn Twijnstra in the third top position this week: "Although the theme of the game is way more serious than these game mechanics are able to translate, the dependency on elements outside the players' control is something that translates well. But in the context of the game, it feels like luck rather than a loss of control." Twijnstra does a good job of considering and balancing luck, but also speaks to how luck fits abstractly with the concept of insomnia.

Honorable Mentions
Crimson Starfire, Software Engineer, Counting Sheep (or Herders and Counters) (see page 5) What we especially liked about this game is that it appeals to a wide variety of players, including children. There's real value in making a family-appropriate game.

Rick Kolesar, Heads Down (see page 6)
This game could also be family-friendly, except for the drinking game variant given at the end. Bonus points for acknowledging that players will make a drinking game out of any and every card game there is.