Game Changer: Exploring the Role of Board Games in the Lives of Autistic People.
This mixed methods paper reports findings from three studies examining the overlap between autism and hobbyist board gaming. The first was a quantitative survey of over 1600 board gamers, showing that autistic individuals are overrepresented in this hobby compared to the general population and that...
| Published in: | Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders Vol. 55; no. 10; pp. 3478 - 3498 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
Oct2025
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=188317741&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 188317741 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 01623257 AUT jtl: Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders issn: 01623257 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Oct2025 vid: 55 iid: 10 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature place: New York, New York artinfo: ui: 188317741 178272992 188317741 188317741 10.1007/s10803-024-06408-0 188317741 ppf: 3478 ppct: 20 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Game Changer: Exploring the Role of Board Games in the Lives of Autistic People. aug: au: Cross, Liam Belshaw, Francesca Piovesan, Andrea Atherton, Gray affil: https://ror.org/008n7pv89 Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth, PL4 8AA, Plymouth, UK sug: subj: Games Utilization Autism Spectrum Disorder Psychosocial Factors Hobbies Evaluation Motivation Evaluation Patient Attitudes Evaluation Persons with Mental Disorders Psychosocial Factors Autism Spectrum Disorder Epidemiology Psychological Well-Being Evaluation Human Multimethod Studies Interviews Phenomenological Research Thematic Analysis Focus Groups Growth Interpersonal Relations Prevalence Questionnaires Semi-Structured Interview Male Female Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test Kruskal-Wallis Test Chi Square Test Mann-Whitney U Test Pearson's Correlation Coefficient Comparative Studies Cognition Skill Acquisition Friendship Multicenter Studies United Kingdom Mental Health Funding Source Adolescence Adult Middle Age Aged Descriptive Statistics Scales Adolescent: 13-18 years Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Aged: 65+ years Male Female ab: This mixed methods paper reports findings from three studies examining the overlap between autism and hobbyist board gaming. The first was a quantitative survey of over 1600 board gamers, showing that autistic individuals are overrepresented in this hobby compared to the general population and that autistic traits measured by the AQ are significantly elevated amongst board gamers. Study 1 also assessed gamers' motivations and preferences and reported key differences as well as similarities between autistic and non-autistic gamers. The second was a qualitative study that reported the results of 13 interviews with autistic individuals who are hobbyist board gamers. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), four key themes were uncovered, including a preference for systemising, escapism and passions, the social lubrication effect of games and difficulties with deception. In the third, 28 autistic individuals were introduced to board games in groups of 5–10 over an afternoon. Subsequent focus groups were then analysed using IPA. This analysis uncovered themes around how board games are challenging but encouraged growth and how they were an alternative vehicle for forging social relationships. Through this paper, we discuss how and why board games may be a popular hobby amongst the autistic population, and its potential utility for improving autistic wellbeing. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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