The interface and design of Squidball allows for no necessary instruction of the rules to the players before the game begins. The audience works together in conjunction with the projected visual output on the screen to discover the rules and challenges that arise from the game. The combined curiosity and challenge bring the entire player audience to join together as one force.
The Squidball experience can be tailored to fit any event or space. However, the overall experience retains the exciting thrill of working together to accomplish a goal. At first, a player might want to satisfy their child-like curiosity to get possession of the ball and bounce it in any direction, but as the game progresses, each player quickly realizes their actions have an effect on the screen. They realize that the corresponding markers on the screen mimic the movements of the ball.
For one game the markers on the screen seem to hit targets, which represent invisible targets in the playing space. Now the players get it! They have to work together to beat the game. The players quickly learn to move the balls to the areas with remaining targets on the screen. They learn the boundaries of their playing area and stop trying to get possession of the ball, but move it to the other players who can hit the targets. The entire playing audience works as one. This takes collaboration and teamwork. When the first level is completed and they advance to the next round, the players cheer in celebration. When even more markers appear with a timer, they instantly start working together to meet the challenge.
Other games make the audience guess what image is revealed with a spot-light that is controlled by the players, or the players can draw a figure, or control other game mechanics. When the game is finally over, the players cheer for each other and realize that it takes the entire audience to play the game. All of the players have been united in the game and feel bonded by the experience.
