Overview:
At The Crossroads is a serious board game that helps you better understand what everyday life is like for millions of Ukrainians who have fled their homes and experienced forced migration following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Gameplay:
In the early morning hours of February 24, 2022, you are asleep at home in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. You are suddenly woken up by the sounds of air raid sirens and bombing all over the city. Russia’s full-scale war against your country has begun. You’ll need to make it to safety. You’ll rush to the train station and manage to get a spot on a train taking you to Lviv, in western Ukraine. Once there, you’ll either remain in Ukraine and begin life as an internally displaced person or you will head abroad and become a refugee.
Whether you stay in Ukraine or go abroad, you’ll face countless hurdles when dealing with the authorities, landlords and members of the local community. Much of what you experience will feel impossibly difficult to handle at times. Yet, through your own resilience and the support of others, you’ll rise to these challenges and slowly start to build a new life in a new wartime reality.
Fostering understanding:
At the Crossroads immerses players in storylines based on real-life experiences of refugees and displaced persons, emphasizing the difficult choices they face. There are no winners or losers in this game. Rather, the game serves as an important platform for initiating conversation and dialogue, allowing players to reflect more about how the lives of millions of Ukrainians were forever changed in ways both big and small as a result of wartime displacement.
The project team:
At The Crossroads was designed by a team of Ukrainians who have first-hand experience of forced migration in collaboration with migration researchers. The game is made possible with the support of the Swedish Institute as part of the Swedish Institute Academy for Young Professionals Migration & Integration module (Eastern Partnership & Baltic Sea Region), organized by the School of Public Administration, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and School of Social Sciences, Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.
Please visit us on Instagram at: @thecrossroadsgame.
