Lumen PhotoVocab Game
PLAYER GUIDE
4-8 Players
Age 14+
20-40 minutes
Low Difficulty
OVERVIEW
Make learning fun. Equip players with essential vocabulary and help them grow their analytical skills through interactive gameplay.
Designed as a fun and engaging educational experience, Lumen is a card game that challenges players to pair photography vocabulary with photos. It teaches players to have a keener eye for photography and introduces them to vocabulary useful in photographic discussion and critique while also encouraging critical thinking, debate, and analysis.
OBJECTIVE
Lumen is an international photography exhibition with work selected by jurors from around the globe. Each round photographers submit an image that matches the jurors theme in the hopes of winning the round and having their work featured in the final exhibition.
ROLES
There are 2 roles that players will take on throughout the game.
- Juror: The juror is a rotating role that changes each round. They have final say in who wins at the end of a round.
- Photographers: All players except the juror are photographers competing to submit their best photo.
SET UP
- Shuffle the vocabulary and photo card decks and place
each deck face down in the center of the game area. - Each player draws 7 photo cards for their collection (hand).
- The player who most recently took a photo is the first juror.
HOW TO PLAY
Lumen is played over several rounds in a clockwise rotation Each round of Lumen has 6 phases:
- Call for Entry: The juror reads a vocabulary card to reveal the theme of the round.
- Submission: photographers submit a photo from their collection that they feel best fits the theme of the round.
- Judging: The juror reviews and reveals submissions, selects an image, and explains their choice, providing insights into why the image aligns with the specified term.
- Critique (optional): Think your photo was better? Maybe the juror didn’t understand your creative vision. So tell them! All photographers are encouraged to debate the juror’s choice and discuss which card they would have picked instead and why.
- Award: The photographer who’s work is chosen receives a point in the form of the vocabulary card from that round.
- Draw: Photographers draw a new photo card, returning their collection to seven.
The next player clockwise from the current juror becomes the next juror and a new round begins.
WINNING THE GAME
Win the game by being the first to get 5 photos accepted into Lumen.
Timed Variant: Specify a time limit and compete to get the most entries before the deadline.
ABOUT LUMEN
Conceived by Carol Record as part of her MFA thesis on game-based learning at Jacksonville State University, Lumen emerged from her personal challenges in the realm of education. Drawing on her passion for games, education, and photography, Carol designed a game that effectively engages students, breaking the ice and facilitating camaraderie while also serving as a versatile tool for delivering course content.
Carol created Lumen as an educational tool for her classroom, and it was such a hit with educators and students that she was encouraged to publish it. Carol has since created her own game-based learning publishing company, Blackwater Buccaneers, and is on a mission to work with other educators to develop innovative, creative solutions that help them make learning fun and engaging for students.
Carol Record
www.carolrecord.com
@carolrecord
CREDITS
Game Design
Carol Record
Photography
Sarah Ann Austin, Lindsey Bryant, Doug Clark, David Cummings, Lesa Cummings, Jarrod Cuthrell, Shankar Dayal, Arthur Fields, Stacey Gibson, Mary Haney, Cindii Mitchell, Margaret McNaron, Michelle Miklik, Madison Prince, Abigail Read, Carol Record, Karl Record, Honey Starr, Evan Thomas, Morgan Worsham, Adobe Stock, Pexels
Vocabulary
Cambridge Dictionary
MasterClass
Merriam-Webster
Oxford Languages
Tate
Vocabulary.com
SPECIAL THANKS
Karl Record, J. Seth Johnson, Dr. Tray Ridlen, Jamie Runnells, Christian Dunn, Joe Slack, Madison Prince, Stacey Gibson, Cindii Mitchell, AnnaMaria Jacob, Abbey Wilkerson Jacksonville State University, The Society for Photographic Education, and the many others that helped make Lumen possible.