Leechwyves and Bonesetters

Medieval serfs must work to make their fiefdom the most prosperous and least plague-ridden in this active game.

Leechwyves and Bonesetters is an active roleplaying game in which players combat plague in medieval Europe. Play groups work collaboratively to make their fiefdom the wealthiest and least plague-ridden in the land. Players are assigned characters with their own strengths and weaknesses. Each round, they must balance the goal of working their manor lord’s land with the need to visit the leechwyfe or the bonesetter to keep themselves plague-free. At the end of each round, players seek an audience with their lord to entreat him to pass decrees that would better their living conditions and improve their ability to avoid maladies.

Designers – Tiltfactor

AdventureSquad_DevPhoto Tiltfactor is an interdisciplinary innovation studio dedicated to designing and studying games for social impact. The lab was founded and is led by Dr. Mary Flanagan, and strives to answer the question: Can we make a more just and equitable world with games? Tiltfactor relies on psychological principles to help inform the design and content of its games. After design, the lab uses rigorous, systematic research methodologies to test and verify the games’ proposed impacts.