1 Lotus Let’s Play By Charlotte, Jordan and Michelle

2 Let’s Play video YouTube Linkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUuRtF_VLP0&feat ure=youtu.be

3 45 min Full Play! Please also note that in the description of our Let’s Play, we have the full 45 minute footage of our first play through Lotus! https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=dt-j9z17Dy0 From in the longer YouTube video we actually de- brief and discuss what we liked about the game. Interestingly, there was a lot of talk about strategy, but not too much talk about the mechanics of the actual game.

4 Language of the Lotus FlowersHanakotoba is the Japanese language of flowers, in this practice, plants convey emotion and symbolise certain Japanese values. Flower (Number of petals in the game) Japanese Name Association Iris (3) Ayame Good News/glad tiding/loyalty Primrose (4) Sakuraso Desperate Cherry Blossom (5) Sakura Kind/gentle White Lily (6) Shirayuri Purity/chastity Lotus (7) Renge Far from the ones you love/purity/chastity

5 Significance of Animals in LotusJapanese Name Association Asian Lady Beetle Namitento Positivity, good luck, flourishing love, fertility Dragonfly Kagerou Marriage success, victory, joy, strength, courage Butterfly Chou Souls of the living and dead, Symbols of joy and longevity Worm Mimizu Life, birth

6 Written Analysis Game Aesthetics 8 Insect Guardians2 x butterfly 2 x lady bug 2 x dragonfly 2 x worm 4 Elder Guardians 12 Special Tokens (4 of each) Elder Guardian Enlightened Path Infinite Growth 30 scoring token worth 5 each Game Aesthetics 4 Player Deck which are colour coded: green, yellow, blue, red These decks consist of 31 Petal Cards Iris primrose cherry blossom, Lily lotus 20 Wildflower cards cherry blossom lily a

7 Written Analysis (cont)Game Genre Family Card Game Mechanics Area Control Auction/Bidding Hand Management Themes Extreme Japanese Cultural Influence Rating 9/10 Designer husband and wife duo Jordan and Mandy Goddard Publisher Hobby Japan, Renegade Game Studios Artwork Created by Anita Osburn and Chris Ostrowski

8 Different Versions of LotusInterestingly the first release of this game was in English. A 2017 release is planned for the game in Japanese.

9 Parting Thoughts A beautifully designed game with several different strategic elements involved. The materiality of the game involves cards that are slightly larger than a normal playing card, with the tokens being made of chunky cardboard with a glossy finish. The insect and elder guardian tokens are of similar feel and made out of material identical to that seen in Tokaido. A great game that can be played amongst family and friends of 8 years and above, with a fantastic competitive element and suspense involved. Reactions of players change depending on the moves and decisions of other players, meaning that sometimes what you had planned to do has gone out the window.

10 References Appleton, A 2015, Japanese Culture Conquired the Human Fear of Creepy Crawlies, accessed 11/04/2017, https://aeon.co/essays/japanese-culture-conquered-the-human-fear-of-creepy-crawlies Baird, M.C 2001, Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design, Random House Incorporated, US BBC 2017, Religion: Shinto, accessed 22/04/2017, General Books 2010, Language and meaning of flowers: Hanakotoba, General Books, London Knight C 2010, Satoyama: Model for Sustainability, The Kyoto Journal, accessed 17/04/2017, Language Journal 2012, Hanahotoba: Japanese Secret Flower Language, accessed 12/04/2017, Lotus 2016, BoardGeekGame.com, accessed 20/04/17, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/198525/lotus Shirane, H 2011, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons: Nature, Literature and the Arts, Columbia University Press Temple, C.R 2008, Traditional Themes in Japanese Art, Regents Press, London Appleton, A 2015, Japanese Culture Conquired the Human Fear of Creepy Crawlies, accessed 11/04/2017, https://aeon.co/essays/japanese-culture-conquered-the-human-fear-of-creepy-crawlies