The Good Life Game — Camden
A commissioned board-game format that helps residents and the council co-create indicators of "the good life" — translating wellbeing policy into a conversation that people actually want to have.
Context
Local authorities in the UK are under growing pressure to evidence "what good looks like" beyond economic measures — and to do so in ways that feel meaningful to residents, not abstract to them.
Camden Council asked for a participatory format that could engage diverse communities — older residents, young people, newly arrived neighbours — in shaping the indicators that frame their borough's strategy.
Methods
- Game-design sprints tailored for distinct participant groups.
- Iterative workshop facilitation, refining the game between sessions.
- Translation of resident input into language council teams could read alongside policy.
Outputs
- A reusable Good Life Game format — including a public-facing edition delivered as How’s Life in Camden? at community events across the borough.
- Custom decks, scenario cards and facilitation guidance the council can re-run without me.
- A set of resident-derived indicators of wellbeing fed into the council’s strategic conversations.
Evidence & impact
- Direct uptake by Camden Council in resident-engagement programming.
- Demonstrated a method that can be re-run with future cohorts and adapted for other local authorities.
Relevance
For local government and public-engagement teams, this project shows how a single, well-designed object can hold the weight of a much larger conversation about wellbeing, place and policy — without losing rigour.