World Factory: The Game

Zoë Svendsen, Simon Daw

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781848426337
• eBook ISBN: 9781780019673
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

Made in China. Sold in Britain. Worn by you.

From the factory floor to the catwalk, from Shanghai to London, World Factory weaves together the untold stories of people connected by the global textile industry.

This published edition of World Factory: The Game adapts the highly successful, provocative and participative theatre production for the page, offering readers the opportunity to play – as individuals or in teams – the managers of a clothing factory in China and recreate the experience of the game.

Like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' novel, the game has multiple routes and outcomes, interlinking questions of ethics, fashion, consumer capitalism, environmental impact, working conditions, migration and globalisation. In a cross between Monopoly and poker, players trade in workers and money, but it is a game about values – will you be an ethical factory owner or will profits always come first? In the rag trade, can anyone ever really win?

World Factory was created and produced in 2015 by the performing arts company METIS, in co-production with the New Wolsey Theatre, Young Vic, and Company of Angels. It was performed at the Young Vic, London, and on tour of the UK.

WORLD FACTORY: THE GAME CARDS

HOW TO ENTER THE WORLD FACTORY

World Factory is a game in which you must decide what it means to win.

You have been chosen to run a clothing factory in China.

You will need:

• This book.

• Paper.

• A pen.

• A timer.

You start with:

• 100,000 in capital.

• 24 Worker ID Cards.

Your capital is the money that you have once the factory has dealt with day-to-day running costs, including workers’ pay. At the start of the game your workers earn a monthly wage of 3,000, which is just below living wage, but commonplace for the industry. The game uses its own World Factory money (see here).

How to Play

Every route through World Factory starts at CARD 1. On each card, there is a scenario, and a conundrum. Each conundrum is based on a real-world situation discovered through our research. When making your decision, consider how many workers and how much capital you have gained or lost so far. Occasionally there will be a card that only offers one pathway. The cards are placed in numerical order in the book for ease of reference, so you will be constantly moving back and forth through the book as you follow your story. There are no right or wrong decisions, just different paths through the game. If you encounter a worker on the cards who is named, and want to find out a little more about them, you can turn to page 277, where you will find biography cards (ordered alphabetically).

You can run your factory as an individual, or play as a group. If playing in a group, between 3 and 6 players is optimal. If there are more than 6 of you, you can split to play the game separately. Each factory will need their own book. If you are playing in a group, you must make decisions collectively. If you cannot agree, you must devise a way of coming to a decision.

Before you start, create a chart to keep track of your capital and your workers. A sample chart can be found on page 267 and downloaded/printed from: www.nickhernbooks.co.uk/worldfactory. Each time you make a decision, before moving on to the next card, make a note of:

▶ The next card number.

▶ The running total of your capital.

▶ ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• The Game Cards
• Playing Materials
• The Context
• Credits
• Copyright Information