Designing a Board Game for Children to Enhance Well-Being and Train Social Skills
Olykaynen, Darya (2016)
Karelia-ammattikorkeakoulu (Pohjois-Karjalan ammattikorkeakoulu)
2016
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016111716356
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016111716356
Tiivistelmä
The thesis describes the process of designing an educational board game for school children that enhances well-being and trains social skills. The report includes a literature review on the topic and a description of the practical actions undertaken by the author.
Qualitative research was implemented for the purpose of obtaining information from the target group. Development methods included rapid prototyping and testing. The user-centered approach was followed by the design process.
The result of the thesis is a finalized prototype of a resource management game designed for 7-12 year olds. The game accommodates 3-6 players. The goal of the game for a player is to fill all the slots of a personal progress sheet with resource cards of 5 different types, representing 5 topics: health, emotions, intelligence, hobbies and friendship. Event cards add a twist to the gameplay. The cards contain the descriptions of social situations that children can relate to. Going through different social situations while playing and getting examples of coping with problems provides positive educational impact and empowering effect. At the same time, players train their social skills because the gameplay includes negotiation.
Qualitative research was implemented for the purpose of obtaining information from the target group. Development methods included rapid prototyping and testing. The user-centered approach was followed by the design process.
The result of the thesis is a finalized prototype of a resource management game designed for 7-12 year olds. The game accommodates 3-6 players. The goal of the game for a player is to fill all the slots of a personal progress sheet with resource cards of 5 different types, representing 5 topics: health, emotions, intelligence, hobbies and friendship. Event cards add a twist to the gameplay. The cards contain the descriptions of social situations that children can relate to. Going through different social situations while playing and getting examples of coping with problems provides positive educational impact and empowering effect. At the same time, players train their social skills because the gameplay includes negotiation.