Board game aims to get people talking about death
WATERLOO — Death is a conversation many people avoid, even though it’s important to let people know what you want in those final days and after.
Jennifer Davis wanted to make it easier for people to talk about death, spurring the Waterloo woman to create a board game focused on that difficult topic.
“That’s why I called it ‘Exit Matters.’ It’s really about what matters to you,” Davis said. “We all have to grapple with death, so let’s do it together.”
She thought a colourful board game would make people want to come to the table and talk about end of life wishes.
“I really wanted to come up with something that would be familiar for people, comfortable,” Davis said. “I like the idea of people sitting down face to face.”
Davis, a career counsellor and longtime hospice volunteer, started on the project about two years ago, honing the game after many focus groups with people of various ages and in different settings.
The current version is printed on fabric with game pieces made out of vintage buttons.
Landing on a particular coloured square, players pick a card from one of four piles. The cards are designed to educate on medical terms, consider scenarios, reflect and share. As the game progresses, people fill in a booklet that clarifies their wishes.
“I did it with my own family and we had a lovely conversation,” Davis said. “There were moments in it I will remember forever.”
Rather than singling out one person, she said, “you all play and you all share.”
Hearing other people’s ideas can also help people think outside the box and come up with a more meaningful, personal approach to those final days.
“There’s becoming so many more options,” Davis said. “This just feeds into that.”
As a career counsellor, Davis said she has similar conversations about life and what people want to get from it. She hopes the
game will be useful to other professionals broaching these topics, such as counsellors.
“It’s just a way to spark that conversation,” Davis said.
A trained facilitator helps a group play the game, keeping the conversation going and deepening it. Davis ultimately would like to see organizations sponsor game days, but for now the game and its marketing is “evolving.”
Davis created a second version called “Bucket List,” which is a “lighter conversation” for younger people that’s less about plans around death and more what players want to achieve in life.