A specialist dementia researcher from the University of Liverpool has worked with local school children to develop a new board game, helping younger generations learn about dementia and challenge stigma from an early age.
The Dementia Explorer Game has been created by Dr Clarissa Giebel, in the University’s Institute of Population Health, and her team, in collaboration with The Lewy Body Society.
To design the game, children from Dovedale Primary School, St. Jerome’s Catholic Primary School, and St Austin’s Catholic Primary School were invited to take part in workshops and share their views on dementia – discussing what they already knew, and what they wanted to know more about. Their input shaped the development of the game, making it relevant, engaging, and accessible for children aged 7 to 11. Moreover, the game was piloted with people with dementia and unpaid carers at the Wigan Warriors Rugby Club Memory Group.
The game itself is designed in the shape of a brain and is divided into four themes: learning about dementia, understanding risk factors, how children can help, and how to live well with dementia. Players move around the board collecting tokens as they answer questions and complete challenges, with the first player to collect 10 tokens crowned the winner.
Dr Clarissa Giebel, Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of Population Health at the University of Liverpool and at the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast, said: “Dementia affects nearly every family in some way, yet stigma and misunderstanding still surround the condition. By engaging children at an early age, we can create opportunities to talk openly, ask questions, and start breaking down those barriers. The Dementia Explorer Game gives children a fun, interactive way to learn more about dementia, while also empowering them to think about how they can support people living with the condition.”
At the recent launch for the game, school children got the chance to play and explore it. Participants included Charlotte, Maria and Rocco, year six pupils from Dovedale Primary School who said: “It was really fun to get to design the game and it’s been really cool to play the game today. We think our school friends will enjoy playing it and be able to learn more about dementia.”
The game has been designed to respond to the stigma that continues to exist around dementia and aims to build awareness and compassion from childhood onwards. The Dementia Explorer Game follows the success of The Dementia Inequalities Game, developed with people with dementia and carers, to shine a light on the inequalities and challenges people face. Read more about the Dementia Inequalities Game here.
Dr Giebel added: “We often focus on adults when we talk about dementia education, but children are the next generation of carers, healthcare professionals, and supportive neighbours and friends. Helping them to understand dementia early on is key to changing perceptions in the long term.”
The game is available to buy from The Lewy Body Society website.