Make the case
Let people defend a state before democracy destroys it.
← Back to the labMerge the Union · playable creative technology case study
Playable browser game + team icebreaker
Merge the Union
Break the ice. Break the map.
Each round, the group votes one state off the map. Another state absorbs it, gets a ridiculous mashup name, and the country becomes slightly more united and much less defensible.
Design question
How can a silly premise become a game people can facilitate, pause, save, resume, score, and reuse?
Round anatomy
Use one loop and increasingly cursed geography
Vote it off
Use Quick Merge or collect a tally directly on the map.
Pick the absorber
A neighboring state takes the territory, unless Free Merge is on.
Name the mess
Accept the generated name, reroll it, or type the group’s suggestion.
Repeat
Continue until one deeply cursed mega-state remains.
Playable build
Play the full game here
Configure the Spice settings, vote states off the map, pick the absorber, rename the resulting mega-state, save the session, and keep going until one deeply cursed union remains.
Chaos is not a side effect.
Chaos is a feature.Facilitator settings
Give different groups a reason to care
team play
Team Conquest
Two to four teams compete to control the anchor of the final mega-state.
Product system
The product includes three coordinated tools
The game, live artifact, and tracker solve different parts of the facilitation problem. The point was not one clever screen. It was a reusable activity with setup, recovery, pacing, and handoff.
Build 1
Standalone browser game
Real state shapes, curated mega-state names, embedded music, offline-friendly play after the first map load, and no Cowork session required.
Build 2
Cowork artifact
Tile-grid map with Claude-generated mega-state names and winner lore generated live each round.
Build 3
Tracker companion
A second-screen obituary board with all 50 states, snarky descriptions, elimination states, and one-click restoration.
Under the silly premise
Product decisions under the silly premise
- Named multi-save manager with resume, delete, export, and cross-device copy/paste
- 5, 10, 15, or 30-minute session budget with auto-save on timeout
- Round timer and player or team turn rotation
- Historical Hijinks event deck with an in-session on/off toggle
- Earthquake, Civil War, and Defection random events
- Music, sound effects, map animation, and final-two spotlight
- Custom mega-state naming and winner lore
- Host guide for 15-minute Brown Bags and team facilitation
Historical Hijinks
Sometimes the map fights back
Random events keep a long session from becoming predictable and give the facilitator a way to restore energy without inventing a new rule on the spot.
Event card 1
Earthquake
The map shakes. Someone loses composure.
Adoption layer
Give the host clear setup instructions
The guide includes a sample script, settings for a 15-minute Brown Bag, group-size recommendations, facilitation tips, controls, and troubleshooting.
Result