Abstract Dominos
interactive art game for people living with Dementia
IN COLLABORATION WITH Alana Moore
Saskatchewan, Canada
2024
Photos by Alana Moore & Amber Phelps Bondaroff
Abstract Dominos is an interactive art game, designed, produced and distributed as part of the Belong Where You Find Yourself (BWYFY) project, in collaboration with Alana Moore.
50 multiples of the game were shared with care homes and individuals living with dementia and their care partners across the province of Saskatchewan, and beyond. The game boxes include: multiple pieces of colourful mat-board, cut into small, easily handled shapes, a flat playing surface, instruction sheet, paint markers and adhesive, packaged in a flat, mailable box. Players take turns placing pieces on the playing surface which can include decorating, moving, arranging and subtracting pieces. There are no hard and fast rules to this game. It was designed as a way to engage with a person living with dementia in a non judgemental, and open ended way.
Guiding Principles of Abstract Dominos:
50 multiples of the game were shared with care homes and individuals living with dementia and their care partners across the province of Saskatchewan, and beyond. The game boxes include: multiple pieces of colourful mat-board, cut into small, easily handled shapes, a flat playing surface, instruction sheet, paint markers and adhesive, packaged in a flat, mailable box. Players take turns placing pieces on the playing surface which can include decorating, moving, arranging and subtracting pieces. There are no hard and fast rules to this game. It was designed as a way to engage with a person living with dementia in a non judgemental, and open ended way.
Guiding Principles of Abstract Dominos:
- Abstract Dominos is an exploration of space, and aesthetics, but most importantly, a loose structure within which to share an experience with a friend, loved one or client living with dementia.
- In traditional games, there are rules, that are not meant to be broken. People may become frustrated or upset, when forgetting the ‘rules’ or not knowing what they are supposed to do next. In this game, the only hard and fast rule is, to accept everyone and where they are at in the present moment.
- Whatever a person wants/needs to do during their turn, is acceptable and welcome.
- Never say “No” to what a person is offering. Accept it, and then, add to it, with our own contribution. (An exception here is if a person is putting themselves or others in a place of harm or excessive distress.)
The structure of Abstract Dominos can be thought of through a lens of radical acceptance. We accept the other person, where they are, right now, in this moment. This might be different from the moment before, and the moment after. By accepting the other person in this way, we also are practicing, and learning, to accept ourselves, how we are, in this moment.
In sharing this game with through the BWYFY project, I witnessed and participated in amazing interactions with people living with dementia. Many engaged with the game in thoughful and focused ways, and some were drawn into story telling as prompted by the colours and shapes in front of them. I will never forget 'playing' Abstract Dominos with a woman named Katherine in Saskatoon, who associated different people, animals and emotions the different shapes on the board. We engaged in a long, shared story through the placement of pieces on the board.
The open-ended structure of Abstract Dominos, invites people into a shared aesthetic space, not bound by the standard norms of everyday interaction and conversation, which can be limiting in communicating with people living with dementia.
Learn More about the supporting organizations involved with this project:
In sharing this game with through the BWYFY project, I witnessed and participated in amazing interactions with people living with dementia. Many engaged with the game in thoughful and focused ways, and some were drawn into story telling as prompted by the colours and shapes in front of them. I will never forget 'playing' Abstract Dominos with a woman named Katherine in Saskatoon, who associated different people, animals and emotions the different shapes on the board. We engaged in a long, shared story through the placement of pieces on the board.
The open-ended structure of Abstract Dominos, invites people into a shared aesthetic space, not bound by the standard norms of everyday interaction and conversation, which can be limiting in communicating with people living with dementia.
Learn More about the supporting organizations involved with this project:
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