My Wonderful Life: A Board Game for Patients with Advanced Cancer

Abstract

A communication board game (My Wonderful Life Board Game) was designed for patients with chronic or advanced illness to engage in self-reflection and discovery, emotional expression, and discussion wishes and concerns in end of life. The game's use is illustrated through case studies. My Wonderful Life (MWL) board game was administered with five patients diagnosed with advanced cancer in Shenzhen, China. With each patient, the MWL game was conducted for three sessions, each session lasting 60-90 minutes. Qualitative process study with the participants revealed the beneficial components of the MWL game reported by the patients. They include: a) leaving a legacy; b) preparing family and self for end of life; c) appreciating self and achievements; d) sharing of feelings, appreciation, and concerns; and e) distractions from pain and negative thoughts. The MWL game facilitated patients entering into therapy and enhanced therapeutic outcomes. With the aid of the game, exploration and revelation were both speeded up and deepened. The game also offered a sense of closure that could enhance the psychological well-being of individuals facing impending death. In conclusion, the MWL game is a useful tool for psychological work with patients with advanced illness.

National Survey of Children's Hospitals on Legacy-Making Activities

“…The positive nature of legacy-making is consistent with previous studies, which have shown patient benefits including decreased breathing difficulties, distraction from pain and negative thoughts, increased religious meaning, greater social interaction, leaving a legacy, preparation for end of life, greater appreciation for self, as well as improved family communication and decreased caregiver stress. [4][5][6][7][8] However, previous studies have focused on adult and elderly adult patients [4][5][6][7] and have rarely explored legacy-making specific to pediatric populations.…”

“…3-8 Legacy-making activities including life review, dignity therapy, board games, or creative arts have been shown to benefit adult patients living with advanced cancer and their family members, [4][5][6][7][8] but have rarely been tested in pediatric populations. A qualitative study explored bereaved parents' and siblings' reports of legacies by children who had died of cancer.…”

Evaluating ‘FREDA Challenge’: A Coproduced Human Rights Board Game in Services for People With Intellectual Disabilities

“…Previous research (Neistadt et al . ; Streng ; Pon ; Collins & Griess ) has used board games to elicit learning, emotional regulation and attitude change, but not in an intellectual disability or HR context. As such, the results are unique in the HR research arena.…”

“…Previous researchers (Neistadt et al . ; Streng ; Pon ; Collins & Griess ) have also suggested that board games may be useful for educational purposes, encouraging self‐reflection and discovery (Caballero‐Coulon et al . ), expressing emotions about a topic, discussing issues and concerns, facilitating understanding and disclosure, and ultimately positively changing attitudes and beliefs about sensitive topics (Van der Stege et al .…”

Meeple Centred Design: A Heuristic Toolkit for Evaluating the Accessibility of Tabletop Games

“…There is a growing body of evidence too that suggests beyond offering opportunities for friends and family to enjoy one another's company, gaming (and board gaming in particular) offers an effective avenue to explore play therapy interventions (Carroll 2002;Hromek and Roffey 2009;Pon 2010). Numerous popular web series act as advocates and curators of this culture, helping to explore both the social and ludic implications of game design choices and opportunities.…”