A Good Yarn

A Good Yarn is meant to be a gentle and informative introduction to spinning with a spindle. It is one part teaching, and one part game: the "Learn" section introduces the concept of spinning and demonstrates the basic action of spindling, so that the player has a foundation from which to understand what happens in the game; the "Play" section walks the participant through the most basic decisions one has to make while spinning in the form of a kind of yarn "choose your own adventure".

The player's choices and their outcomes during the game in A Good Yarn are extrapolated and applied to a hypothetical finished yarn, which is rated for quality at the end on a scale of "good-cat-toy" to "perfect". The stakes aren't too high, and the user has ample time and help, if desired, to make their choices during gameplay. A Good Yarn is meant to be soft in this way because, when teaching a craft, it is important to try to minimize frustration for the beginner and to use any confusion as a pathway for learning. Indeed, the hints during the game give information that is additional to, and not simply a repeat of, what is found in the "Learn" section.

A Good Yarn was submitted to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's 2011 PlayExpo and won in the category of Serious Game.