Interaction » Starting a Game

In order to begin a game, both players must summon the will to engage in battle. With the suppression of GUI-style interfaces, a method of tangible user input is required.

Options considered included: the placement of all ships on the tables, the blowing of a whistle and the raising of a flag - which draws to "hoisting the colours" (a dated naval term that signifies the declaration of war).

A ship bell used to start a game of Commodore.

The ringing of a ships bell was selected as:

• In the context of an exhibition, ringing a bell provides a sonic cue that a game is about to begin. In contrast, a flag could be easily missed in an exhibition environment.
• The use of a bell provided a simplistic design as the ability to detect a bell ringing was much easier than checking and manipulating the state of a flag.

This photo of a ship's bell and rope from a naval vessel provided inspiration for utilising a bell as a means to begin play. Image by Bruno Girin (enlarge).