Pax Transhumanity

If you recall from my presentation last class, I mentioned that I had wanted to bring in Pax Transhumanity, and I have just received and played it so I can now give my appraisal. Also, if anyone is interested in playing let me know and I would be happy to teach you!

The play area at the conclusion of the game

Similar to Emancipation, Transhumanity operates on a logic of epistemes; ideas (the cards comprising most of the play area) cannot be viably commercialized unless the global episteme is favorable. Ideas come in a combination of four disciplines: transbiology, computing, group dynamics, and assembly. Each idea corresponds to one or two of these, represented by colors, and in order to commercialize the idea (leading to endgame points and other benefits) it must be epistemically viable, or viable through a "think tank" card that matches its colors.

The "Human Progress" splay, featuring the ideas
 we commercialized over the course of the game

The game can conclude in several different ways, but ours ended when the developing world reached a tipping point. In our haste, we had failed to address the possibility of a eugenics movement being precipitated by a new gene-altering technology, and so the developing world fought a bitter conflict over eugenics. Because no one discipline dominated the human progress splay, victory came down to whoever had garnered the most influence in their hidden goal sphere. Both of us had chosen the cloud, but I was victorious 3-2. 

The included algorithmic flowchart 

My player role: a blogger with very little capital. The left
side of the card lists all the available actions players can take.

Two of the games's spheres where work takes place. The doctor (red) player has established a company to address the barrier of women's health, while the blogger (blue) player has been focusing on data privacy in the cloud.