The Concept

Varsity Heroes is a social networking experiment from LUMS and GIKI entrepreneurs. Click here to read a short comic about this initiative, here to register your allegiance to your university and here to read our blog.

Social networking websites like Facebook accumulate people into various networks and communities, and then facilitate interaction between them through all sorts of ways. Varsity Heroes is similar, except there's only one way to interact with other communities - fight, defeat and enslave them (OK, three ways).

So in essence, Varsity Heroes introduces the politics of power in social networking, making it more akin to real-world interactions between cultures, countries and ideologies.

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The First War: LUMS vs GIKI vs FAST

We've kicked off Varstiy Heroes with a nod to the rivalry between LUMS, GIKI and FAST - call it a desire to settle old scores from our student lives! On the 13th of April, a full-scale war between the social networks of LUMS, GIKI and FAST began. This war was waged on a 3D rendition of LUMS campus and went on till the 1st of May, on which date GIKI emerged victorious. There was plenty of strategy-gaming action with lots of battalions to deploy and special weapons to attack with in this conflict. You can check out some of events that unfolded during this war here.

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What To Expect

There's a huge offline component to Varsity Heroes. For instance, as LUMS, GIKI and FAST fight, the war-effort on all three sides will naturally need real-life coordination, war planning, negotiation with rival factions and recruitment of new warriors. So expect brainstorming sessions to finalize tactics, voting to elect 'heroes' (leaders) from among your peers, diplomacy to convince a rival to join forces with your team, sniffing out enemy agents, spying for your side and much more.

Also, the game is designed such that it will not take more than 2 minutes of anyone's day, while still creating opportunities for more committed players to formulate elaborate strategies.

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How To Play

And there's just one rule: attacks can only be made on adjacent areas.

That is essentially it. Ofcourse there's loads more to it: electing heroes, brainstorming strategies, secret weapons, spycraft, negotiating, becoming a leader, gaining respect etc. But the core of the game is just the aforementioned three points.

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Learn More:

The Concept
The First War
What To Expect
How To Play