Game card from the board game "Tajemnica ostatniego seansu" with the film "Amator" / "Camera Buff" , photo: Topografie Association
Picture the setting: a film crew arrives at an abandoned cinema to shoot the last scene of their film. Suddenly, the windows and doors are mysteriously shut and the spirit of a dead cinematographer appears. The spirit must wander the earth until it finds a copy of the film which was meant to be screened at the cinema right before it was closed down. The player's task is to guess the title of the film. The winner is allowed to leave the building. The board game "Tajemnica Ostatniego Seasnsu" ("Secret of the Last Séance") is being put together by the Łódź-based Topografie association.
Only Polish Films
"This is a deduction game" - Vojislav Radojičić, one of the creators of "Tajemnica ostatniego seansu" clarifies. What are the rules? At the beginning, out of a pack of 55 cards representing Polish films, one is selected and placed out of sight of the players. In order to guess the card, the players need to ask each other questions and exchange cards. They are only allowed to ask certain questions, such as: year of production, amount of awards, colour of the film tape on which it was shot. An average game lasts up to 90 minutes for 3 to 5 players.
"What is the idea behind the game?" we asked Radojičić,
A long time ago, we noticed that Polish cinema was not popular among young people. Even the once popular trend of watching comedies from the People's Republic of Poland is passing, and few people know the creators of the cinema of moral anxiety. This is how we came up with the idea to show that there are "a couple" of really interesting films made in Poland. We believe in the great educational power of games, so we decided to create a game with Polish cinema in the background.
Playing cards for "Tajemnica ostatniego seansu" board game, photo: Game Department
Crowdfunding on PolakPotrafi.pl
The cards represent widely available and popular Polish films. 24 of the 55 cards represent films made before 1989. From the wildly popular comedies Machulski's Sexmission and Piwowski's The Cruise, to less known horror films like Lokis. Rękopis profesora Wittembacha / Lokis. Professor Wittembach's Manuscript (by Janusz Majewski). Most of the films were produced by Tor and Kadr, two production houses which have made some of their films available on the web for free.
"Tajemnica ostatniego seansu" game card, photo: Topografie Association.
"Tajemnica ostatniego seansu" will not be a trivia game meant to test player's knowledge, but an interactive game aimed at building curiosity about Polish films. Radojičić adds,
We wanted our game to increase the popularity of old Polish cinema, like Leo Che's album "Powstanie warszawskie" / "Warsaw Uprising" which years ago led to an increased interest in the Uprising and literature on the topic.
"Tajemnica..." is published by experienced urban and card game creators Topografie Association and Game Department. The production was supported by the Polish Film Institute. So far, making use of the crowfunding platform PolakPotrafi.pl, the creators have gathered 4,000 PLN within a couple of days. The completion of the production requires another 7,000 PLN, which must be raised before the 2nd of April 2014.
Support the project.
Author: Bartosz Staszczyszyn, translator: Mai Jones 17/03/2014