Event report on "Sendai Nanda Fuda," a card game that invites you on a journey of thought

On June 17th and 18th, 2017, a card game called "Sendai Nanda-fuda" was held at Honmachi Square.
This was part of the Sendai Merchant Project, an art project aimed at deepening people's appreciation for the city of Sendai.
I participated in this event myself and have written this report.

What are the Sendai Nanda Tags?

Sendai Nanda Cards is a card game where the winner is determined through dialogue.
Two to six players can participate per table.
The game is played around a sheet of cards.

The rules are simple.
First, all players roll the dice to determine the scorekeeper and timekeeper.
Once the number of rounds to play is decided, each player takes turns drawing a question card and answering a question on the topic written on it in three minutes.
All participants then score the answers.

The scoring criteria are not "whether you agree with the answer" but "whether it is a solid answer
." The scoring method is a three-choice system: 10 points for an excellent answer (regardless of agreement)
, 6 points for a decent answer, and 2 points for a weak answer.
Answers that are too short for the time limit will also be penalized.

Once scoring is complete, the respondent draws a chance card and follows the instructions written on it.
Chance cards range from those that affect the score, such as "add +5 points" or "deduct 5 points," to more unusual ones, such as "ask the same question to someone else," adding excitement to the game.

Once the game has been played the number of times initially decided, the points are tallied and the player with the highest total score wins

I actually tried it!

So, I decided to give it a try myself!
The first game was just a test run, so we only played one round.
The participants were myself, a friend who accompanied me as a photographer, and some members of the public.

The first card I drew was

"How do you feel when you eat Sendai specialties like beef tongue, sasa-kamaboko, zunda mochi, and Sendai miso? For example, what if the ingredients weren't produced in Sendai or Miyagi? Would that be okay?"

The question was:

I absolutely love anything called a Sendai specialty... so I can say I'm in a great mood, but what if the ingredients aren't from Sendai or Miyagi...?
Or rather, wasn't the beef tongue actually made from American beef, not Sendai beef?

Thoughts were swirling around in my head.
But all the while, the time limit was still up...!
In the end, the answer I came up with was,

"The beef tongue is from America, but it's made by a craftsman in Sendai, so it's delicious! So it doesn't matter!"

That was the gist of it (summary).
Apparently, the question cards for the Sendai Nanda cards have slightly quirky questions about Sendai written on them.
The maximum score is 30 points!
And what about the intriguing chance cards...?

Double points!
A landslide victory with a total of 60 points!
However, more than winning or losing, the stories of old Sendai I heard from ordinary people were a more rewarding part of this competition.
People who have lived in Sendai for a long time share all sorts of stories through questions and answers.
For me, who has only lived in Sendai for a little over 20 years, it was an extremely valuable experience.

After that, I enjoyed another game and finished playing after about an hour.
At first, everyone could only give model student-like answers, but as we played more rounds, I was very impressed to hear a lot of people's "true feelings" about Sendai, including harsh opinions, unexpected perspectives, and even some humorous answers.

I got to talk to artist Sue Hajdu!

After playing the game, we had the opportunity to hear from Sue Haidu, the artist who created the Sendai Nanda bills

According to Sue, the background to the creation of the Sendai Nanda bill was the interview survey conducted for the Sendai Merchant Project.
The project aims to create a space to rediscover Sendai identity through the relationship between time, the city, and its people, using "Sendai Merchant" as a keyword.
As a starting point for this project, they conducted interviews with people living in Sendai, and during that process,

"People who live in Sendai may not be able to explain what makes Sendai unique."

Apparently, that was the realization they had.
Date Masamune, Tanabata, beef tongue, sasakama, zunda mochi... there are many keywords to describe Sendai, but to be honest, I'm not confident that I can properly explain how they relate to me or what makes Sendai so appealing.
The Sendai Nanda bill is art meant to give people like that an opportunity to think more deeply about the city of Sendai.

"Communication art is not just about the game, but also about the participants themselves and their lives afterward," says Sue.
Perhaps the "new future for Sendai" that we, including myself, will create at this event is also part of the art that Sue is talking about.

The responses from those who participated in the Sendai Nanda Card project will be compiled by the "Sendai Art Node Project" and presented as an exhibition event around October 2017.
If you are interested in the responses of the participants, or my response, please wait for the official announcement on the Art Node website!

INFORMATION

Chimon

A balding writer who loves travel and laughter.
A nice guy who hides his thinning hair by shaving his head!
He travels north and south to bring smiles to Tohoku through his writing!

sbtimon.hatenablog.com/