The Empathy & Creative Dialogue Toy is a 3D puzzle game that challenges players to place themselves in each other’s shoes. It’s an easy to use game that leads to surprisingly complex insights from its players. Each toy comes with domain-specific resources — including minds-on activities, gameplay scenarios, and discussion topics. It’s been designed with input from educators to help teachers, facilitators, and parents harness the educational power of empathy and play. The toy has garnered so much attention that it’s even been featured in two TEDx talks — one on designing for empathy & communication, the other a rallying cry for play in our school systems.
How does that unlock empathy?
The puzzle can only be solved through collaboration, but the players are approaching the problem from very different positions. They need to help each other imagine what the other is working with, and figure out how to creatively communicate their instructions even as things get frustrating. By trying to understand the other and building a common language, they realize that their own point of view is only one among many.
This is a “play metaphor” — the way you play the game can be hugely revealing about how you communicate, think, and learn. When students debrief after playing, they explore and analyze what challenged them. For everyone in the room, the experience is intense and the feedback immediate.
