Going it alone – new board game mirrors real life issues facing young people

A brand new board game has been launched which highlights the realities of independent living for young people in North Wales. The game has been developed by young people who have had real life experience of the difficulties of independent living and homelessness.

The creation of the board game called ‘Going It Alone’, supported by North Wales Housing, Grŵp Cynefin, Cartrefi Conwy and the Bus Stop Project, stemmed from a leaflet that was made to help young people learn about life skills such as budget management and living costs.

The young people behind its development felt that the interactive nature of a board game would be a fun way of getting people to talk about the issues whilst at the same time learning about the realities of potential homelessness.

Bringing these issues to life, research was carried out and found that the interaction of playing a board game was more beneficial to young people than the more obvious route of creating a digital game.

Developed by the Young Housing Network, the game will be available for schools and community groups in Conwy and Denbighshire to access and use as a learning tool.

Gemma Closs-Davies, Youth Homelessness Project Co-ordinator explains:

Going it Alone is similar to the Monopoly board game in many ways. You travel around the board and interact depending on what scenario card you pick up. You have four pay days and four bill days throughout the game, and you need to manage your money to ensure you have enough to get you around the board.

Prior to the launch, we’ve tested the game at a number of pilot sessions, and we’ve had very positive feedback from young people and practitioners alike.

As the game has been developed by young people who have had real life experiences of these problems it includes realistic scenarios that can be used as discussion points. These events created within the game mirror what can happen in real life.”

Iwan Evans, Tenant Participation Co-ordinator at North Wales Housing, who’s been involved in the project said:

North Wales Housing is proud to be part of this project. Our tenants really enjoyed taking part, using their personal experience to help develop the game. We hope the board game will go on to benefit many young people. The young people involved, members of the Young Housing Network, are also developing a website that provides essential information to young people that are thinking about living independently.”

The game was launched at TAPE, Colwyn Bay where a giant floor game of the Going it Alone board game was unveiled.

If you require more information regarding the ‘Going it Alone’ board game, or for details of support for young people facing homelessness, contact Iwan Evans on 01492 563232.

The Young Housing Network are currently recruiting for new members and are meeting at Ty Hapus in Llandudno on Tuesday the 14th July at 5pm. Download flyer here