Reception House Waterloo Region

Some of the most important considerations, that led to either a game being included or not included in this collection, were:

• playable by children of different ages together within the range of about 3 to 8 years old
• can be played in any language
• no reading was required to play the game
• very simple instructions that could be summarized on a 1-page Quick Start Instructions (as with games in all our collections) and made it easy for the one staff member to learn all the games or for an older sibling or peer to explain the game
• a smaller set of games given the availability of only one staff member to supervise
• wide variety of themes that would expose children to lots of different vocabulary
• co-operative games worked well to accommodate children wanting to join in the middle of game play or leave game play
• how to play the game could, if needed, be communicated largely via gestures and modeling with game components
• we included some games that could be played in open-ended ways (e.g., could also support pretend play)
• avoided games where players need to react quickly given varying ages of children often playing together and slower reaction times of younger children
• as in all our collections, we avoided any games with commercial or popular culture themes that might limit conversation if not familiar to all children, games with noisy elements, and games with parts that could get used up (e.g., dry erase markers)

Some of the most important considerations that we ended up taking into account for this collection were:

• game themes more suited to the older age of the children and youth
• no reading required to play
• a smaller set of games given the availability of only one staff member to supervise
• games with simple instructions that can be summarized on 1-page Quick Start pr Quick Tips Instructions and made it easy for the one staff member to learn all the games or for a peer to read and/or explain the game
• simpler game mechanics that are more common given that many participants were familiar only with classic and traditional games and were not initially familiar with any of the games we showed them
• including some quick, easy “ice-breaker” games like Tenzi to start off game play and allow a large number of players to begin playing together right away
• including some games that allowed youth to make up their own ways to play (e.g., Tenzi, Pizza Party)
• no potentially problematic themes (e.g., colonial themes, aggression, conquests, witchcraft) and conferral on possible problematic themes with staff  (e.g., dice game Yamslam with gambling element was judged as okay by staff and enjoyed by older youth)
• avoidance of games with deception or bluffing as this component was found to be difficult to communicate and made some children uncomfortable as they didn’t want to “lie”
• as in all our collections, we avoided any games with commercial or popular culture themes that might limit conversation if not familiar to all players, games with noisy elements, and games with parts that could get used up (e.g., dry erase markers, score pads)

Young Children's Collection: "The children loved having different set of board games available to them. At first children seemed shy and didn't want to participate but I think once students explained the board games to the children they were willing to participate. The board games were great ways for children to work together. It helped having set of board games that didn't required lots of instruction and children were able to come up with their own rules. Overall, i would say that the board games allowed children to be creative with the games, allowed them to feel a sense of belonging as they were participating in group activities. They learned to take turns with the activities and waited until the game is finished to bring out another set of game.  The board games were great additions to the children program. Thank you Daniela for thinking of us and being a great help to the children's program.“

Older Children and Youth Collection: I think having the board games collections provided great joy for our youth, as it allowed them to play and communicate with one other. Many of the youth don’t speak English, and as a result usually self-isolate with their phone in the corners of the temporary accommodation because they are either unable to communicate with the youth that speak a different language or are insecure with their English proficiency. A particular example is of one youth clients from Afghanistan that came to our Wednesday program, got the chance to play with the other Syrian Clients and after that, they became close friend throughout their stay in temporary accommodation and they still communicate now that some of the clients moved out to a permanent home. Having board games that specifically doesn’t require a lot reading also made the youth feel more eager to try the games vs the games that contain a lot of instructions.”

A year later: “The youth and children still participate in the board games and love them. most the games used are still the connect 4, dominoes, Uno cards and pizza party dice game due to their simplicity and the youth familiarity with them from their own countries."