JustUs Junkie's Trials & Triumph

Trials & Triumph was designed by a criminal defense attorney to guide teens in their interactions with law enforcement. The game uses a simple roll-and-move format to chart the course of a player navigating between the World of Possibilities and the World of Trouble. The object of the game is to get out of the World of Trouble with a Clean Slate by being the first player to arrive at the Triumph space.

Some spaces on the board require a player to draw a Flashing Lights card and read it aloud. The cards present over 50 different scenarios involving encounters with law enforcement. The scenarios are based on the designer's 19 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney. The cards do not permit the player to make any choices, they merely spell out the scenario and provide a result. The result of a Flashing Lights card can be positive (e.g. advance your pawn two spaces) or negative (e.g. move your pawn to the World of Trouble, a circular track representing the criminal justice system).

There are various ways a player may leave the World of Trouble track: If a player is convicted of a misdemeanor, the player returns all the way to the Start space in the World of Possibilities; being acquitted allows a player to return to the World of Possibilities on the Clean Slate space; however, if a player is convicted of a felony in the World of Trouble, the player may be eliminated from the game.

The game designer's key lessons are captured in a list of the "7 R's of police encounters," a summary list of do's and don'ts that are echoed throughout the game: Don't run, reach, resist, or run your mouth (i.e. make a statement to the police); do refuse all DUI tests, refuse consent to search, and request a lawyer.

A supplemental Game Guide ebook is available for separate purchase. The Game Guide aligns with the scenarios on the Flashing Lights cards to provide background information about the criminal offenses and legal concepts involved in the game.

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