A university student has adapted traditional board games so that they can be played with people who might not have access to, or be familiar with the internet.
Alisha Pulham, who is originally from Digswell and is studying English and German at the University of Warwick, adapted some traditional board games such as Snakes & Ladders, Connect Four and Battleships during the first wave of COVID-19.
She changed the games so they could be played over the phone with her grandma, who lives alone in Wales and was struggling with the isolation during lockdown.
Alisha said: "She doesn't have internet and her only phone is a basic Nokia, so I adapted the boards to enable us to play with each other, even though we cannot see each other.
"She really enjoyed playing them and said they gave her something to look forward to in her week."
This inspired her to find a way to make these board games accessible to other people in a similar situation.
Alisha ended up designing a website called Quick Quarantine Games (www.quickquarantinegames.com).
The website features six board games which are completely free to download and print out.
They can be played over the phone, with or without a video camera, and come with instructions on how to play without being able to see each other.
Alisha added: "I adapted the boards so that each player can use their own board, but is still able to easily describe to the other players (on the other end of the phone or video call) where they have landed on the board etc.
"My hope is that these games can help people reconnect and have fun with their friends and family during this difficult time, even if they can't be with them in person.
"They are particularly suited to children, who aren't able to see their friends at the moment, as well as older people who would like to have fun with their grandchildren, or anyone they haven't been able to see for a while, especially those who may not be confident with modern technology and may be suffering from loneliness."
The website also features two games with blank templates so that kids can design and colour them.
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