Australia is experiencing a board game renaissance. With community ties frayed and social media threatening feelings of belonging among young people, board games provide a blueprint for intentional gathering and prosocial engagement. They’re also making space for those typically marginalised.
Dr. Xavier Ho is a lecturer in interaction design at Monash University, a visiting fellow at the University of Sydney's Hunt-Simes Institute in Sexuality Studies, and curator of the award-winning Pride at Play Exhibition at Sydney World Pride.
Phil Walker-Harding is a board and card game designer living and working on Gadigal land (Sydney, Australia), making games that are easy to learn and socially engaging to play for people of all ages and backgrounds. His best-known game, Sushi Go!, has been published worldwide in over 20 languages, selling over 1 million copies.
Nicholas Lising-White is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8. With a degree in human geography from UCL, he is interested in the impact of differing cultural conditions on human behaviour. Outside of work, he can be found meandering between cafes on his bike, testing his culinary skills, and intermittently pottering around a rugby pitch.
