Version 1

The first printed version of Methodology Match was played by research students on the research methods course at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in December 2025.

It had 135 cards, printed in black on white card. Each card had a QR code that led to a longer explanation. Matches between cards came in five strengths, from ++ to – –. The game ended in a viva, where the other players acted as examiners and scored every connection in a thesis from –5 to +5.

How it went

The students responded well, and several of them asked for a set of their own.

There was far too much information. Every card carried a paragraph of about a hundred words, and there were 135 cards.

Ontology and epistemology were separate cards, and a thesis needed one of each.

Students who were not familiar with card games such as rummy struggled. The rules assumed that everyone already knew how to draw and discard.

What changed

• Ontology and epistemology are now one card, the Position, with a line for each.
• A definition is now 25 words or fewer. The longer explanation is on the card's web page.
• The rules now explain a turn to someone who has never played a card game, and the short version fits on one page.
• The five match strengths are now two: fits, and tension.
• The scored viva is now a round-table discussion with no examiners and no points.
• The 135 cards are now two decks of 54.

In the room

Photographs from the UCA research methods course, 2025, used with permission.