FarmCards

FarmCards is a framework for coding aspatial games using .csv files. In games coded in FarmCards, players have a ‘points’ budget, that they can use to play ‘cards.’ Different ‘cards’ are available in each turn, depending on the phase / time of year, and what has been played before. Some cards persist for the whole game, while some expire or translate into points along the game. Players may experience ‘shocks’ in between turns, affecting their points budget, or the cards they hold. With this basic structure, we can inform questions around individual and group response to uncertainty, group coordination, etc. In the example shared in the above archive, we apply FarmCards for a game in which players make farming decisions, experience regular shocks, and have access to both moneylenders and a village savings and loan association (VSLA).