OASIS deck of cards: house of colleagues: a playful experiment on community building

Abstract

A research experiment to facilitate playful interaction and community learning within an academic organization of about 170 employees was conducted. A 2-player card game including 61 'staff character cards' and 39 question cards was implemented to be played by the relatively new community. The game period, including supporting events, ran for 5 weeks. After the experiment 59 staff members responded to an online survey on play experiences. The results showed that ways of participation and means of play are more diverse in a work community context than as they are specified in the game rules. More emphasis should be set on framing the game and supporting it as a continuous activity to become a playful practice in the work community. An academic community has inherent contextual prerequisites that need to be addressed in order for a playful practice to gain traction as a means for community building.