Buffalo is a

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

that requires players to think of people or characters who match combinations of descriptions. It was developed by the Tiltfactor Laboratory as part of the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

(NSF) funded project called "Transforming Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) For Women and Girls: Reworking Stereotypes & Bias." The game was runner-up for Best Digital Game in the 2012 Meaningful Play Awards.

Gameplay

In each round, players race to make matches using cards listing noun and adjective descriptors. The first to shout out the name of a real person or fictional character who matches the descriptors on two or more word cards, claims the matched cards, and flips over a new noun/adjective pair. When the deck runs out, the player who collected the most cards wins. Whenever players are unable to make a match, someone adds another card from both decks to the table.

Research

Initial data suggests that Buffalo reduces

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

and encourages greater inclusiveness in players’ representations of

social identity Identity is the set of qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, or expressions that characterize a person or a group. Identity emerges during childhood as children start to comprehend their self-concept, and it remains a consistent ...

groups. The research study showed that thinking about stereotypical and nonstereotypical trait pairings increases social identity complexity, a psychological construct linked to tolerance of members outside one's group.

References

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External links

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buffalo

Tiltfactor
Card games introduced in 2012