Flood Snakes and Ladders. Facilitators notes

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Rosamund Bridges
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1 Fld Snakes and Ladders Facilitatrs ntes May 2011

2 Fld Snakes and Ladders Facilitatr s Ntes This guide tells yu everything yu need t knw t run the game successfully. It cvers: 1. Setting up the game 2. Intrducing the game t yur audience 3. Playing the game 4. Tips fr invlving the audience 5. Ideas fr after-game discussins 1. Setting up the game a. Materials: b. Rm Layut Link up, and turn n, yur cmputer, prjectr and screen Dwnlad the Fld Snakes and Ladders PwerPint file and Fld Snakes and Ladders Intrductry Slide PwerPint file Dwnlad and print ut the Fld Snakes and Ladders Flr Tiles nt A4 paper using the print slides ptin in yur print dialgue bx Inflate yur giant dice (r make sure yu have suitable dice)! Set up the rm, as described belw. This can be flexible depending n the space that yu have but, ideally, yu want everyne seated arund the utside, facing the PwerPint screen Lay ut the flr tiles frm 1-30 in a snake-like pattern in the middle f the flr Yu may als want a few tables rund the utside supplied with flip-chart paper and pens if yu re thinking f getting yur audience t chart the prgress f their player (see tips fr invlving the audience, belw) 2. Launch the Fld Snakes and Ladders Intrductry Slide in PwerPint and g t slideshw mde s that this slide is displayed as peple enter the rm Intrducing the game t yur audience While the game instinctively makes sense t anyne wh has been invlved in lngerterm fld recvery, thse wh d nt have much knwledge f this prcess will need a bit f extra explanatin t help them get the mst ut f it. S it is helpful t give yur audience a brief explanatin f hw the game wrks and what it is designed t shw befre yu start. Here is sme suggested text t help yu d this. Hwever, d feel 1

3 free t adapt yur wn versin f this t make it relevant t yur purpses. In particular, if yu are running the game with yunger children yu might want t simplify this explanatin slightly. Once yur audience is seated, read ut the fllwing text: The game that we are abut t play is designed t prvide yu with a persnal insight int what it is like t recver frm a disaster in the mnths and years that fllw the event. Disasters attract a lt f media attentin at the time they happen but, when the immediate crisis passes, the news crews depart and we dn t hear any mre abut thse whse lives and hmes are affected. Hwever, research frm Lancaster University has shwn that many peple find the lnger-term prcess f recvering frm a disaster t be very difficult and stressful. Playing the game will help us understand why this is the case. Fr example, what are the difficulties that peple experience after recvering frm a disaster? Why d these prblems arise? What things d peple find helpful? And hw culd residents be better supprted? These are just sme f the questins we will be thinking abut whilst playing it. The case study fr the game is the Hull flds f June 2007, which affected ver 8,600 husehlds in the city. Hwever, the lessns that we ll learn frm playing it culd be useful in helping us understand certain aspects f recvery fllwing ther kinds f disasters t. The stries that yu will hear during the game are real. Each square that we land n will take us t a particular qute that was taken frm the interviews r diaries f the peple taking part in Lancaster University s research in Hull. Yu ll see that, while mst f the squares are straightfrward, there are als actin squares the nes with themes n and these are the squares n which we ll get t make decisins. These decisins may lead t a ladder in which case we will mve frwards r they may lead t a snake in which case we will mve back. But we dn t want t give t much away! The best way t find ut is t play it! 3. Playing the game a. Assigning rles t the audience The game wrks best with 3-4 players s ask fr vlunteers r chse peple. Yu can make the game as simple r cmplicated as yu like we ve fund that it helps t invlve everyne as much as pssible while playing the game and yu can d this in a simple way by letting everyne take turns in thrwing the dice. Hwever, here are sme additinal suggestins fr invlving peple: Nminate ne r mre peple t cllect the inflatable dice after each thrw and take it t the next thrwer. One persn wrking the PwerPint. One r mre peple t read ut the qutes. Make sure yu chse smene with a lud vice as it is imprtant that everyne can hear. If yu are playing the game with children r yung peple, chse cnfident readers as it is imprtant that the children dn t feel wrried abut making a mistake with their reading in frnt f their friends. Yu may als like t get the audience t play as teams, with each team being assigned t a particular player. Mre details f hw t d this can be fund in tips n 2

4 invlving the audience (see sectin 4 belw). If yu decide t d this, yu can ask the grups t allcate tasks within their teams fr example, they culd nminate ne persn frm their grup t read ut the qutes fr their player, whilst ther grup members culd take ntes n their player s prgress and catalgue the chices that he/she makes n the actin squares. b. Playing the game nrmal squares Get the players t line up next t square 1 n the flr tiles. Pick ne f the players and tell them that he/she will have tw thrws f the dice each time. This may well cause debate and cnsternatin amngst the ther players wh will say that it is nt fair fr that persn t get mre turns. Hwever, yu can explain that the reasn fr ding this is t replicate the fact that life isn t fair! By giving ne player an extra thrw each time, we re emphasising the fact that sme peple will have mre resurces than thers (whether that s financial resurces, extra knwledge, scial cnnectins etc.) that can help them during recvery. Hwever, yu can emphasise t the players that there are als many snakes alng the way, s it will be interesting t see whether this player des, in fact, finish first... T begin the game, clse the Fld Snakes and Ladders Intrductry slide and pen the Fld Snakes and Ladders PwerPint. G t slideshw mde. Slide 1 will autmatically be displayed The first player thrws the dice and mves nt the apprpriate square. Get them t tell yu which square they ve landed n and type the number f the square int the Fld Snakes and Ladders PwerPint. Press Enter. This will take yu t the apprpriate qute fr that square (unless it is an actin square, in which case, see the instructins under sectin c, belw). Read ut the qute (r get whever is respnsible within the audience t d this) and mve t the next player s turn Repeat the abve sequence fr the next player NB if players land n the same square mre than nce there s n need t read ut the qute again. Mst f the qutes will be self explanatry. Hwever, sme may seem quite bring r unrelated t the flds (fr example, they may be abut ftball!) and the audience might be surprised by this. Explain t them that this is perfectly nrmal and all part f the prcess f fld recvery as ur research shwed that yu can t separate the flding frm all the ther things ging n in a persn s life. Als, just as in nrmal life, there are days when lts happens and then days when there s lts f waiting arund where yu seem t d nthing. c. Playing the game actin squares If a player lands n an actin square, the theme f the square will be displayed n the PwerPint and n the flr tile, alng with a number range e.g. The clean up

5 Tell the player and their team that they nw need t chse a number within this range (including the numbers at either end s, in the case f ur example, they culd chse 31,32,33,34 r 35). Type the number that they chse int PwerPint and press enter. This will take yu t the qute fr their actin square. Read it ut, as usual. Press enter nce mre and they will get a message telling them t g backwards r frward a particular number f squares. NB On sme squares, a picture may fllw autmatically a few secnds later. This is fine and yu dn t need t d anything extra except tell them that these are real pictures f the fld and fld recvery prcess frm Hull. They then mve t the apprpriate square and their turn finishes there, unless they land n anther actin square, in which case g thrugh the abve prcess again. NB1: If a persn is tld t mve back mre squares than is pssible e.g. if they are n 3 and have t g back 5 they just mve t square 1 and start their next turn frm there. Hwever, if they have t mve frward mre squares than there are n the bard then they prgress t square 30 The End? in which case, fllw the apprpriate steps fr this, as described belw. NB 2: If a player ends up chsing the same number frm an actin square later in the game (fr example, if n.35 is chsen mre than nce) then the animatin fr that slide will nt start frm the beginning again (unfrtunately this can t be helped as it is a feature f PwerPint!). Fr squares withut a picture assciated with them, this is straightfrward: yu will see the qute AND the actin (i.e. hw many squares yu need t g backwards r frwards) s just read ut the qute and the actin as usual and then mve nt the next persn s turn. Fr qutes that have a picture assciated with them, the first thing yu will see is the picture NOT the qute r the actin. Press the up arrw n the keybard t g back t the qute. Read it ut and then press enter in the usual fashin t get the actin (i.e. the mve frward r backwards bit). Then cntinue as usual with the next persn s turn. e. Ending the game Unbeknwn t the players, the winner is nt necessarily the first persn t finish! When a player reaches the end f the game they must g thrugh the actin square sequence that fllws frm Square 30 The End? i.e. they cannt bypass this square even if they thrw a number that takes them beynd it. Press 30 fllwed by enter t bring up the actin square as usual. As with the ther actin squares, ask them t chse between the number range displayed. At this pint, if this is the first player t reach The End?, regardless f what number they chse, enter 79 fllwed by Enter DO THIS SECRETLY SO THAT THEY THINK YOU HAVE JUST GONE TO THE SQUARE THAT THEY VE CHOSEN! 4

6 Read ut the qute as usual and then press enter again they will get a message t g back t square 1! This is a deliberate fix that the audience must knw nthing abut. They will be upset because they thught they were finishing, nly t find that they nw have t start again s, at this pint, yu need t emphasise that, yes, this is tugh, but it really happened t smene taking part in ur study s, if they are frustrated and they are nly playing the game, think what it wuld have felt like fr that persn whse huse was flded again in reality! It als makes the pint that thse wh gt back hme first were nt necessarily the quickest t recver. Once the uprar has subsided, cntinue the game until the next player reaches square 30 The End? (Again, make sure they g thrugh this square they are nt allwed t bypass it!) This time, when they chse frm the number range, enter the real number they have selected, fllwed by enter Read ut the qute. At this pint yu can emphasise that, yes, they have finished the game. Hwever, yu shuld als explain that, as they will see frm the nature f the qute that has just been read ut, finishing des nt cme with a particular sense f victry r, indeed, a particular sense f being finished. This is because ur research findings shw that recvery desn t end just because peple are back in their hmes things are nt necessarily back t nrmal and there is still the wrry abut it happening again. Yu can decide t stp playing the game whenever yu like sme peple may nt have finished but that s fine emphasise t the audience that, even nw, sme peple are still recvering frm the 2007 flds. Als, pint ut t them that they haven t heard all the stries in the game the squares they didn t land n r qutes they didn t pick were experiences they didn t get t explre, and this reflects the fact that we never get t d this: every persn wh is flded will have their wn private stry with its wn ups and dwns mst f which we never get t hear abut. This desn t make it any less real fr the persn invlved. Finally, it helps t have a discussin after the game, which yu culd take in a number f directins. Ideas fr this are cntained in sectin Tips fr invlving the audience The game can be really flexible depending n hw many peple yu have in the audience and hw yu d like t invlve them. It s entirely up t yu but here are sme suggestins fr getting peple t think mre abut the lessns invlved in the game: At the start f the game, divide the audience int teams, with ne team supprting each player. (This is quite funny because it gets a bit f friendly cmpetitin ging but als gets them t think in a bit mre detail abut the nature f the recvery prcess and what is happening t their player.) Give each team a pen and a piece f flip-chart paper and ask them t chart the recvery jurney f their player. Yu culd, f curse, give them particular things t fcus n fr example, yu culd ask them t recrd the actin squares that their player experiences and 5

7 hw he r she fares in respnse t these, r they culd recrd the highs and lws fr their player. They might even want t represent this as a graph with lts f highs and lws t reflect their player s jurney. What yu d here is up t yu and what yu wuld like them t get frm the exercise. At the end f the game, the teams can cmpare their sheets and reflect n what the recvery prcess was like fr the different players. 5. Ideas fr after game discussins The fllwing are sme questins that yu culd use t prmpt discussin after the game. If there are specific issues that yu wuld like t fcus n, yu culd adapt these questins and create yur wn wrksheet in advance f the sessin. Where relevant, we have als referred yu t further infrmatin and case studies that yu culd use frm the final reprts f ur tw prjects: The experience f recvery What was the recvery prcess like fr the different players? Wh fared best/wrst? Why d yu think this is? If they catalgued their players jurneys n flip-chart paper as detailed in sectin 4 (abve) yu culd get the grups t cmpare their findings. Yu might als like t reflect n the utcme fr the player wh had tw thrws. Did he r she d better (as expected) r nt? What were sme f the key prblems that the players encuntered during the recvery? Were these the issues that yu wuld have expected t cme up r were there things that surprised yu abut the nature f the recvery prcess? Supprt fr recvery What actins d yu think culd be taken by the relevant agencies t ensure that residents are better supprted during disaster recvery? If yu are dealing with a practitiner audience here yu might want t push discussins t get peple t think f really specific examples f actins that they culd take. Fr example, in terms f planning fr recvery, what culd yu d nw (bth as an individual and within yur cmpany/ lcal authrity etc.) t ensure that residents wuld have a better experience if a disaster were t happen tmrrw? And what culd yu d if that disaster were t actually happen? Try and keep this discussin fcused n practical things that they culd actually d watch ut fr signs f whinging and/r passing respnsibility nt ther agencies! Make them be as specific as pssible in identifying wh they culd cntact, what resurces they wuld need, hw they wuld access them, etc. When d yu think the recvery prcess finishes and why? Can it ever be said t finish, really? What srts f timescales d yu think are invlved? (Fr practitiners: Given what yu ve learnt frm the game, hw realistic are the timescales invlved in yur wn planning fr recvery?) What srts f needs might arise fr residents during the lnger-term fllwing a disaster? Hw culd yu make sure that these lngerterm needs are catered fr? Again, try and make sure that they re as specific as pssible. 6

8 Hidden vulnerabilities Hw might the prblems experienced during recvery interact with the ther issues ging n in a persn s life? (e.g. wrk, family life?) Is there anything that culd be dne here t reduce the strain? We als cnducted a sister research prject lking at children and yung peple s experiences f fld recvery in Hull. Data frm this prject is nt included in this game. Hwever, yu can refer thse with a specific interest in children and yung peple s issues t the reprts and resurces available n this prject s website Yu culd als get yur grup t think abut and discuss children and yung peple s issues fr example: What abut thse whse stries we dn t hear abut thrugh this game fr example, children and yung peple. Hw might they be affected? (Hint: think abut what wuld happen if schls were als flded, as was the case in Hull, and hw children and yung peple might be affected by relatinship stresses at hme as their parents struggle with insurers and builders etc. Hw wuld they cpe in a caravan r if mved t a rented huse in a different part f the city away frm their friends?) What culd yu and yur rganizatin d t supprt children and yung peple mre effectively during disaster recvery? Aside frm children and yung peple, are there any ther frms f hidden vulnerability that might nt be included in the game? Here, yu culd ask them t think abut friends and relatives wh might be sheltering/prviding financial supprt fr thse wh were affected. A gd example yu culd use t illustrate these mre hidden frms f vulnerability is Sphie, whse stry is given in sectin f ur adults prject final reprt. (Sphie wasn t flded but her hme life was turned upside dwn as her elderly mther-in-law came t live with the family fr 8 mnths, causing majr difficulties fr Sphie and her family financially, scially and at wrk. Hwever, Sphie wasn t able t get any help r supprt because she herself was nt classed as a fld victim.) Hw much scpe is there within ur disaster supprt systems t recgnise and help peple whse experiences may be hidden because they were nt directly affected? What culd yu/yur rganizatin d abut this? Frntline wrkers This game has dealt with residents experiences and, as a result, the experiences f frntline wrkers are nt included here. Hwever, Lancaster University s research shws that frntline wrk can be very stressful fr thse invlved in helping and supprting residents after a fld. Thse with a specific interest in frntline wrker issues shuld read sectin 4.5 f ur adults prject final reprt, as well as Chapter 8 f the children s prject reprt bth f which are available t dwnlad frm ur final prject websites 1. Wh d yu think wuld be a frntline wrker after a disaster? (They will prbably talk abut blue light services here and lcal authrity emergency planners. Hwever, ur research shws that particular stresses fall n thse 1 The main Hull Flds Prject website is The sister children s prject website is 7

9 wh deal directly with the public during disaster recvery, s get them t think abut lss adjusters, lcal authrity staff wh g ut cllecting/distributing infrmatin, damage management wrkers, cmmunity develpment wrkers, charity wrkers etc.) What kinds f stresses d yu think frntline wrkers wuld experience? (If this is a practitiner audience, yu culd ask them if they have persnal experiences f frntline wrk that they wuld like t discuss.) What srts f supprt might these wrkers need? Hw culd yur rganizatin make sure that it lks after its staff prperly? What wuld yu d if yur staff were als persnally affected by the disaster? (Our research shws that many frntline wrkers in Hull were als flded at hme and this resulted in lts f extra stress particularly fr thse whse emplyers were nt understanding f their hme circumstances.) Can yu think f sme examples f thse whse frntline wrker rle is mre hidden? (Fr example, schlteachers and supprt staff whse schls were flded and wh spent their hlidays dealing with the crisis) Hw can we ensure that these mre hidden wrkers are recgnised and supprted? Other disasters? Hw culd the lessns abut recvery that we have learnt frm this game be helpful in understanding recvery fllwing a different kind f disaster fr example, an earthquake r terrrist incident? What wuld be the similarities and differences? Remember these are just sme examples f questins that yu might want t ask. Feel free t think f yur wn t! The chice is yurs... 8

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