Development of a Therapeutic Board Game (The Karung Guni Boss) for the Older Adults in Singapore

Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 31 December 2024

Tags: Care Continuum, Cognitivism, Social Care

About this Content

Aims

1. To test the feasibility of the game prototype on the older adults in Singapore, with the hope that the game will be feasible as a source of therapeutic gameplay for the older adults in Singapore. 2. To understand the impact of the game prototype on the older adults in Singapore and identify areas for improvement, in order to refine the game prototype, with the hopes of exploring the use of the game in the wider communities of older adults in Singapore. 3. To optimise the cost of production to increase accessibility and affordability of ‘The Karung Guni Boss’ for the older adults in Singapore.

Background

Singapore's population is aging rapidly, with the proportion of citizens aged 65 and above accounting for nearly 1 in 5 citizens in 2022, and almost 1 in 4 Singaporeans in 2030. For the older adults, regular participation in recreational physical activities is important to promoting health and well-being. Social interaction is also important in maintaining cognitive function, as well as reducing the risk of loneliness and depression. However, the market lacks a variety of board games that are designed for the older adults in Singapore.

Methods

Firstly, our team worked with an external vendor ‘Studio Grain’, a creative consultancy specializing in brand strategy and design. They assisted in designing the packaging and art illustrations to accompany the instructions on the action and event cards. Translation services were also provided in areas of accompanying Mandarin texts to the current English texts, and developing the Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil versions for the rule sheet. A game consultant’s expertise was also sought to ensure a smoother overall gameplay. Secondly, we conducted a total of 14 group sessions (consisting of 2-5 players each session) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital Integrated Care Hub (TTSH-ICH) from August – September 2024. A participant survey form is conducted with every participant to understand their satisfaction of the game, design of the game, social aspect of the game and the overall gameplay. Facilitator’s observations of the sessions are also recorded down to provide feedback on the gameplay.

Results

Success indicator 1: 92% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that there is an improvement in their mood after playing the game. Success indicator 2: 82% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they would love to play the game again. Success indicator 3: 94% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the game rules were easy to understand and follow. Success indicator 4: Participants engaged in at least 30 mins to 1 hour/session of therapeutic gameplay through the board game ‘Karung Guni’ during their time outside of clinical therapy sessions. Success indicator 5: Observations included difficulties in distinguishing certain colors, word pronunciation, and game setup organization.

Conclusion

The results obtained from the participant survey forms after the group sessions conducted at TTSH-ICH from August – September 2024 have shown us that the use of gameplay through our ‘Karung Guni’ board game led to an improvement in mood. The results also showed that the ease of understanding the game rules and the keenness to replay the game by the participants were fairly high. The project ‘Karung Guni Boss’ board game was also revised and refined after taking into consideration of the feedbacks gathered through the participant survey forms and facilitator’s observations.

Lessons Learnt

Challenges faced included delays due to sourcing services from external vendors, difficulties in patient recruitment due to predefined criteria, and varying levels of physical and cognitive abilities among patients. Lessons learnt include the importance of effective collaboration with external stakeholders and the power of peer support in gameplay. Enhanced social interaction and well-being were observed in hospital settings.

Additional Information

There are discussion plans to commercialise the ‘Karung Guni Boss’ board game, hence an IP disclosure form have been initiated and we are currently in works with NHG HQ for the IP disclosure form. NHG HQ is also assisting with sourcing for vendors to assist with the printing and licensing of ‘The Karung Guni Boss’. We are also considering platforms and avenues to promote visibility for ‘The Karung Guni Boss’ board game, such as ‘TTSH/NHG Corp Comm’ and the ‘Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists’. There are also initial discussion plans to incorporate ‘The Karung Guni Boss’ board game as part of a project to develop a cognitive programme for ‘Active Ageing Centres’.

Keywords

Rehabilitation, Board Game, Older Adults, Singapore

Innovators' Details

Connect with this contributor!

Teo Jia Min Jasmine - jasmine_jm_teo@ttsh.com.sg

Project Attachment

816_TTSH_NTFHIP 2024_Development of a Therapeutic Board Game (Karung Guni) for the Older Adults in Singapor.pdf