The Humanity of Board Games: Getting to those Nooks & Crannies that Technology Cannot Reach

In a world where video gaming relies heavily on the latest technological advances to create very expensive interactive worlds, board games are thriving. The board games market grew steadily in the past decade and it is worth almost $10B; astonishingly, board games raise 8-9 times more money than video games do via crowdfunding. There is something profoundly human about playing a board game. They reach something deep in humans that no amount of technology can. And this is what QRCs need to learn because this is actually our edge and our future in an ever-technologized research industry. This presentation will cover two parts: Explore from a psychological perspective what is so profoundly human about board games and how qualitative researchers can use these learnings, irrespective of the method they choose. Tips & tricks on how to create dedicated board games for qualitative research. While this theme is not new for qualitative research, attendees will learn how to transform research into a boardgame from beginning to end, by starting from gaming principles and theory, from the psychology of board games, and getting inspired by the most popular board games out there.