「ゲームを手段として新しい交流を生むこと」を目的にゲームDAYを開催しています。今回が第2回の実施でした。集まった実行委員は今回初参加の子も含めて小学校3年生から6年生までの6人。

まずは何のゲームで遊ぶかから議論して決めます。「地域の方からも提案されたし、ボードゲームだけで実施したい」「テレビゲームがあるから来たい！という人もいると思う！」とそれぞれの思いを自分の言葉にしながら議論を進めていきました。お互いの意見を尊重しながら、どうすればより交流が生まれるか、どんな交流を生みたいかを話し合っていきました。結果、「テレビゲームのみ」「ボードゲームのみ」「テレビゲームもボードゲームもどちらも」を順番に開催していくことが決まり、今回はボードゲームのみの開催となりました。

今回は5年生の男の子2人が司会に挑戦することになりました。原稿も自分たちで考えます。当日用のチラシやルールをまとめたポスターも、以前につくったことがある子を中心に自分たちで作成しました。「このゲーム前にやっておもしろかった！」「やったことないからこれで遊んでみる」と、各々自分の担当するボードゲームも決めました。

前回の課題だった「小学校低学年にも来てほしい！」との思いから、校長先生にお願いし、１・2年生の廊下にチラシを貼って宣伝もしました。あとは来てくれることを待つのみです。

当日は大雨ではありましたが、小学1年生から中学生まで6人の参加がありました！「ワードウルフ」で盛り上がったり、宝探しのボードゲームをしたり、それぞれ気になるボードゲームでたっぷり遊ぶことができました。

振り返りでは「小学校1，2年生が来てくれた！」「中学生も来てくれた！」と、普段なかなか一緒に遊ぶことのない層と交流ができたことを、嬉しそうに話してくれました。一方で「大人にも来てほしい」「もっとたくさん来てほしい」と、次への思いも話してくれました。

第3回はボードゲームもテレビゲームもどちらも実施の予定です！実行委員も引き続き募集しておりますので、ぜひご参加ください。

次はどんな交流が生まれるか、楽しみです。

[“Creating New Connections! Hosting Our 2nd Game Day!”]

We host “Game Day” with the clear goal of using games as a wonderful tool to spark new connections and friendships. This was our second event. Six student organizers, ranging from third to sixth graders—including some fresh new faces—gathered to make it happen.

Their first task was to debate and decide which games to play. “A local resident suggested it, so I think we should do only board games this time!” “But some kids might only come because we have video games!” The children expressed their thoughts openly in their own words. While deeply respecting each other’s opinions, they discussed how they could foster better interactions and what kind of connections they wanted to create. In the end, they came up with a great compromise: they decided to rotate the themes between “video games only,” “board games only,” and “both video and board games.” For this round, they chose to go with board games only.

Two fifth-grade boys stepped up to host the event this time, taking on the challenge of writing their own script. The flyers and rule posters for the day were also designed by the children themselves, led by those who had experience from previous projects. “I played this game before and it was so much fun!” “I’ve never played this one, so I’ll try it out!”—each child took ownership by choosing which board game they would be in charge of explaining and running.

To address a key challenge from last time—their strong desire of “wanting lower elementary students to come, too!”—they successfully asked their school principal for permission to post flyers in the first- and second-grade hallways. With the promotion done, all that was left was to wait for the big day.

On the day of the event, despite heavy rain, six participants ranging from first graders to junior high students joined the fun! The room echoed with laughter as they got incredibly excited playing “Word Wolf” (a party game of hidden identities), explored a treasure hunt board game, and spent plenty of time enjoying whichever board games caught their eye.

During the reflection session, the young organizers joyfully shared, “First and second graders actually came!” and “Even junior high students joined!” They were thrilled to connect and play with age groups they rarely get to interact with in their daily lives. At the same time, they were already looking toward the future, sharing thoughts like, “I want adults to come next time,” and “I hope even more people join us!”

The third Game Day is planned to feature both board games and video games! We are always looking for more student organizers to join our planning committee, so please feel free to sign up.

We can’t wait to see what kind of wonderful new connections will bloom next time!