Play Beyond the Rules: Exploring Neurodiversity Through Game Design

This interactive workshop invites participants to explore neurodiversity through play by adapting familiar board games into tools for reflection, dialogue, and understanding. Using a guided “game hack” approach, we will take popular titles such as Dixit and Forbidden Jungle and modify their mechanics to better understand the lived experiences of neurodivergent individuals. Participants will work collaboratively to redesign elements of gameplay—such as communication, uncertainty, rules, and perspective-taking—using these as metaphors for different neurodivergent conditions. Through structured play and facilitated discussion, the workshop will highlight how games can make complex experiences more tangible, supporting empathy and awareness among a wide range of stakeholders. The session is designed for educators, designers, clinicians, and community organisers, and requires no prior experience. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with practical techniques for adapting games, as well as new ways of thinking about how play can be used to explore identity, difference, and inclusion.

 Entry to this event is included with your UKGE entry ticket. Please have yours with you when you attend, or you will be refused entry. 

There are no reserved seating for this event, please arrive early and enjoy the wonderful British tradition of queuing to avoid disappointment.