Parley

Background

Parley is a civic engagement card game redesigned to transform polarized debates into fact-based, empathetic conversations.

This project combined UX research, gamification, and mobile UI design to create an interactive experience that encourages critical thinking, civil discourse, and social connection.

Timeline

6 week sprint

Team

3 UX Designers

My role

Project Manager

Business Plan

UX Research

Conceptual Design

UI Design

Sales Strategy

Copywriter

UX Design

Tools

Sketch

Figma

Jira

Google Suite

Photoshop

Miro

Civil Discourse Game

I created Parley to address the decline in civil discourse by fostering respectful and informed conversations. By transforming serious topics into an engaging card game, Parley encourages empathy, critical thinking, and the use of vetted facts, making it easier for people to engage in meaningful discussions and counter misinformation.

2020 Mockups

2025 Mockups

Project Summary

Purpose

I designed Parley's card game mechanics to encourage empathy and critical thinking. Each card supports structured discussions where players earn points for both factual accuracy and empathetic responses.

Gameplay

I crafted Parley to transform divisive topics into a fun, educational experience, promoting civil engagement. Players practice meaningful dialogue, using vetted facts to counter misinformation and foster constructive conversations.

Impact

Parley is a safe environment for players to explore diverse perspectives, promoting respectful discourse. The game's structured approach helps users navigate serious topics while encouraging learning and mutual understanding.

Design Decisions

I designed the home page as a player dashboard, enabling quick access to saved decks or starting new games. The primary CTA sits above the fold to encourage fast action, while clear hierarchy, modular sections, and social features like leaderboards support engagement and retention.

I wanted to balance speed with depth. Some users just want to jump in, so I included pre-made decks for instant gameplay. Others prefer more control, so custom deck building lets them explore and understand each card before the game begins, increasing ownership and engagement..

I designed this phase to create space for uninterrupted expression while keeping momentum intact. The timer ensures progress, even if someone drops off. A “Ready” CTA gives players control over pacing, and Parley Cards ground statements in vetted facts to reduce misinformation and keep discussions constructive.

I introduced empathy-based voting to let users acknowledge their opponent’s perspective. Using a 1–5 scale (excluding 0) ensures everyone earns points and feels recognized. Points are assigned through an in-context drawer interaction, keeping the experience fluid while maintaining clarity in voting decisions.

I included a Solution Statement phase because conversations often stall at personal opinion. I wanted users to consider whether their views should translate into real policy. I chose ranked-choice voting to better reflect collective sentiment and capture nuanced group priorities beyond a simple majority vote.

I chose to end the experience with a comprehensive readout to give users a clear moment of reflection. By surfacing key highlights and outcomes, players can better understand how they, and others, responded to the topic. I also designed this phase so aggregated session data could inform broader research into how users think and engage with complex issues.

Challenges

Key obstacles overcome during the design and development process

Balancing Engagement and Education

Creating a game that is both engaging and educational was challenging. Ensuring players remained interested while learning about civil discourse and using vetted facts required careful design and iteration.

Cultural Inclusivity

Adapting the game to be culturally inclusive and sensitive to diverse perspectives posed a significant challenge. Extensive research was needed to ensure the game appealed to a wide audience.

Protecting Participants

Designing mechanisms to shield players from negative comments and ensure a safe discussion environment was crucial. This involved creating practical moderation tools and setting clear community guidelines.

User Acceptance

Convincing users to embrace a game focused on civil discourse took time and effort. Users were skeptical about the entertainment value of such a game, requiring extensive testing and feedback to refine the concept.

Research Objectives

Data-driven insights that shaped every design decision

Evaluate whether people find value in a structured debate game that uses fact-based cards and prompts to guide conversations around complex or controversial topics.

Understand what encourages users to join debates, express viewpoints respectfully, and continue participating in discussions across multiple topics over time.

Examine potential risks including misinformation, user safety, moderation needs, and whether the system can maintain productive discourse as the community grows.

Explore viable monetization and growth models such as premium topic packs, educational partnerships, and social sharing that expands debate participation beyond the core user base.

Key Findings

Comprehensive user research with n=10 participants to understand needs, behaviors, and pain points

User Interviews

When I say 'debate,' what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
How would you describe the way the opposing side communicates?
What are your sources of information on political topics?
Have you posted, or commented on, a politically charged post this week?
What does a successful debate look like to you?
How do you feel about 'debate' vs 'discussion?'

User Statements

"The 'tribalism' of debates is awful."
"It is valuable to have the perspective of the other side."
"Aggressive energy makes me feel aggressive in response."
"Opposing side needs to be better educated."
"...don't like polarization and politicization of everything."
"Allowing people to have the floor and not be interrupted is valuable."

Affinity Map

Affinity Map: 'I' Statements

I feel sad and angry with arguments

I value clarity and civility

I value honesty and nuance

I value the quality of Information

I want us to be able to admit when we are wrong

I want to learn why the other side thinks what they do

User Persona

Miguel

Age 28

Behaviors

Comes across news via social media
Reads and listens to preferred sources (web, podcast)
Moderately aware of current events

Needs and Goals

Wants to learn about opposing thought processes
Wants honesty and nuance
Wants quality information based on research

Pain Points

Feels hostility from opposing side arguments
Lacking forward movement in conversation
Feels opposing side lacks understanding, empathy, rationality

Problem & Solution

Problem Statement

Politically engaged individuals online need a way to learn and discuss current issues with those holding opposing views in an environment that is civil, honest, and nuanced, with information reliably sourced because users are frustrated and saddened by the divisiveness of social media.

Solution Statement

We believe that by designing Parley with strict comment posting guidelines, upheld by moderators, we will be able to cultivate a community around contentious issues that is focused on better understanding the differences in perspective. We will know this to be true when our moderator intervention rate decreases over time.

Our Impact

My team and I designed a platform for users to upload debate content and conduct civil discourse. Our research concluded that people view debates as aggressive and competitive. Our study also revealed that long-form debates are too much to watch for most users. We focused on designing for three user problems: empathy, efficiency, and resolution.

Design Evolution

From 2020 video platform to 2025 gamified mobile experience

2020 Version

Platform Approach

The initial version focused on creating a platform for users to upload debate content and conduct civil discourse.
Key features included:

Empathy-focused interactions: "Applaud" and "Agree" buttons to show support without full agreement
Time-stamped comments: Spotify-inspired bar graph showing discussion hotspots
Comment guidelines: Required source citations and topic-focused language

2024 Version

Gamified Mobile Experience

In 2025, I decided to evolve and gamify the experience into one that relied on facts and would be more accessible to users. The game would resemble collectible playing card games like Pokemon and Magic: the Gathering, prompting players to pick a topic for a debate — for example, climate change — and they would receive a pack of corresponding cards.

Key Innovations:

Fact-based cards: Peer-reviewed information on debate topics
Reciprocal points system: Players rate opponents' arguments, encouraging empathy
Profile ratings: Points accumulate to build reputation
Truth promotion: Vetted facts combat misinformation