Escape From Spiderhead

ESCAPE FROM SPIDERHEAD is a card game based on a short story of the same name by George Saunders.

DATE

2013

CONTEXT

Created in the Winter 2013 Game Design class (DESMA 157), taught by Eddo Stern

MEDIUM

Cards

PEOPLE

Laurence Menor  :  Game Designer

ESCAPE FROM SPIDERHEAD is a card game based on a short story of the same name by George Saunders. The story is about wanting to commit suicide and having no agency because you are being controlled by a psychopath using drugs, so ideally, playing this game should make you feel the same way (unless you’re playing as Abnesti).

Players take on the role of one of six characters in the story, either prisoners of Abnesti, or Abnesti herself. For the prisoners, gameplay involves having sex with other prisoners to gain love points. Abnesti attempts to accrue the love points gained by prisoners by proving that her drug has caused the love reaction.