A Board Game for Overviewing Social Isolation: Community Coping
Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, I participated in an in-person board game event for the first time in a while.
The game I am introducing this time is Community Coping. It was created based on the concept of using board games to face the social issue of a declining birthrate and an aging population, which we are facing as a reality.
Board games are becoming a bit of a trend recently. This organization is active with the vision of providing opportunities to engage with social issues through board games.
Why not experience a part of the aging society we are about to enter through this game?
A board game to experience coping
To begin with, many people may be hearing the word coping for the first time. It is a mental health term that refers to resolving the causes of stress through various forms of communication.
The goal is to use coping to improve work performance and daily motivation.
Community Coping is a cooperative board game that aims to resolve social isolation caused by personal problems by connecting people with community resources.
In the six designated regions, people with various problems appear one after another. Players identify these problems through coping and resolve them by connecting the people who can solve them.
If you fail to resolve the problems in even one region in time, it is game over.
It features not only the elderly but also the younger generation who support them. You tackle diverse problems that individuals face, such as financial and health issues.
Impressions after playing
After actually playing it, what I personally felt was a reality that captured the situation succinctly.
It was filled with problems common in an aging society, such as elderly people whose health is neglected because they live alone, and young people who urgently need to care for their elderly parents.
Many of these were problems that I might actually face in the future. I even felt a sense of urgency.
Also, people who actually possess the skills for resolution appear as characters. There were some roles I personally didn't know about, so it was an opportunity to learn that such people exist.
Community Coping is used in municipal offices and schools, and its level of polish is very high. By the way, the success rate is about 10%, so it is quite difficult.
About social prescribing
I had previously read a book about social isolation and its care. This is also a topic that connects to Community Coping.
What is referred to here as social prescribing is an activity that supports patients to live autonomously by focusing on their non-medical needs and matching them with various community activities and cultural circles.
In the UK, there are existing frameworks in place to resolve social isolation among the elderly.In Japan, initiatives are also underway to expand social prescribing, using the UK as a model case while adapting it to the Japanese environment.
It has been experimentally proven that social isolation shortens human life expectancy. One of the keywords that appears here is"link worker,"which refers precisely to the characters in Community Coping.
Conclusion
Since it had been a while since I attended a board game event, I was able to participate with a sense of nostalgia and had a great time.
I felt that it is important to have opportunities to think about reality through such completely different approaches, rather than just through passive learning.
If there is another opportunity, I would definitely like to participate again.
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Thank you for reading until the end. Although it is actually irregular, I am working on this with the intention of updating it every day. I would be happy if I could be by your side for a new page in your life. Thank you very much for your support.
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