How can games help improve social dynamics?

"Apprendimento Esperienziale", which can be translated as "experiential learning", is a practice that improves the social dynamics within a group by carrying out a variety of activities. Each activity can last up to three days, depending on the experience sought. During these days, participants are confronted with different activities that guide them through a learning path. The experiential learning activities are always linked to a "situazione problem" (situation-problem) within a social group (a couple, a family, a team at work, etc.). Some examples of the "situation problem" are: Relationship between parents and children, relationship in a young couple, becoming a mother, being a young parent, etc. The implementation of the learning path approach aims to reflect on how to solve problems within social groups or improve social dynamics (e.g. communication) within the group.

Collaboration with the partners was necessary for the design and development of the game activities. Initially, we started with four different concepts with the intention of selecting only the ones that worked best and then developing them further. In the end, thanks to the effort that both we and our partners put into the projects, we managed to develop all four tools: The Pipe Run, The Tower of the Knowledge, DYNAMAZE and My Discomfort. All games were finally tested in two different test sessions with groups of different ages.

In order to meet the economic resources of cooperatives and non-profit groups, we decided to hone in on the possibility that all the artifacts and tools are made in a simple DIY way. This allows the tools to be open-source, cheap and easy to make by yourself. We plan to spread the instructions and game rules open-source.