The Perfect Path game

What makes the perfect path? Is it wide or narrow? Smooth or textured? Shaded by trees or open to the sun? To find out, Studio Locus created a card game for the Noorderpark Local Council — part of their ongoing mission to make community participation more fun, more visual, and more hands-on.

The Council looks at the park as a whole — paths, water, biodiversity, safety, horeca, recreation — and for this round, all eyes were on the paths. Using beautifully drawn cards showing real paths from parks across Amsterdam, complete with dimensions and details, players could mix and match to design their own route through the park. The cards were laid out on a large display, so everyone could see and compare different combinations at a glance. The results were inventive, surprising, and sometimes delightfully impractical (imagine a cobblestone path leading straight into a sandy beach walk). We tested the game during “Alles Is Noord”festival in the heart of Noorderpark, and it proved that play is one of the best ways to spark ideas and conversations. After all, participation doesn’t have to be a meeting in a room — sometimes it’s a game in the park.