Two teams faced off Saturday in Jane McGonigal and Ian Bogost's game, "Cruel 2 B Kind," one of several featured during the Come Out and Play street games festival in New York.
"Cruel 2 B Kind" teams send "kindness" text messages (such as "Have a spectacular day") to an opponent in the hope that the greeting matches the opponent's designated weakness. If there's a match, the message recipients are "assassinated" with kindness and must join the winning team in its quest for more kindness victims.
If there's no match, the targeted team responds by texting "You're too kind" to the attackers, and both teams move on.
Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com
About Bill Detwiler
Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...
Disclosure
Bill Detwiler has nothing to disclose. He doesn't hold investments in the technology companies he covers.
Full Bio
Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.