November 12th 2025
Games are all the rage these days. From Celebrity Traitors to Squid Game – they can really capture the public attention. Not to be outdone, the University of Sheffield’s Centre for Care brought their unique board game on digital exclusion to the House of Commons last week. Digital Care Hub went along to find out more.
MPs, researchers, care sector leaders and people with lived experience were invited to work their way through Mind the Gap – a specially developed board-game that illustrates how everyday health and care services are increasingly managed online, and how many people can be left behind.
From GP appointments and repeat prescriptions, if you’re not digitally-savvy or well-supported it can be increasingly difficult to navigate services.
Speakers at the event highlighted that digital exclusion is not simply a matter of having a device or a connection: it encompasses cost, confidence, accessibility, age, disability and motivation. Researchers from the Information School at Sheffield flagged factors including connectivity, income, age and ability discrimination, confusing information, lack of support and people’s own online confidence or motivation.
A game that speaks to policy
The board-game was co-produced by the Centre for Care along with people with lived experienced of health and care services. Initially showcased in Sheffield and the game has since been used at large public events around the country. The version shown in Westminster enabled attendees to step into the shoes of someone navigating the digital world when systems are not accessible. A panel of key stakeholders supported the game and added real life content to the players in the game.
Members of the audience took part in the game, including Steve Darling MP for Torbay who has lived experience of being registered blind and uses his trusted aid, guide dog, Jennie. Mr Darling has supported this campaign and brought it to the Houses of Commons to raise awareness and understanding of digital exclusion. Mr Darling said he was “shocked that many older people don’t have mobile phones or broadband and that excludes them from services.”
Each player took on a persona – such as an older person living in the community – with varying levels of digital confidence, ability, and support. As they moved through the game, landing on special ? and ! squares – they faced scenarios that either created barriers or boosted their progress. The aim was to move around all 12 squares trying not to get pushed back by digital barriers. Success depended on what square you happened to land on and your starting base of knowledge and support.
Eleanor Ryles from Digital Care Hub who attended the event said
“I felt this reflected real life and was a really interactive way to showcase how simple tasks such as booking GP appointments, arranging benefits or ordering repeat prescriptions, could all be taken for granted. Not only this but the world is moving in to move advanced AI tools to support care, all of which require knowledge, understanding and maybe finances. The benefits of their use is exceptional but only if the older person using them, knows what to do”
From local research to national urgency
At the event, researchers called for a renewed national digital inclusion strategy. They also stressed the interplay between digital exclusion and other inequalities such as geography, age, disability and income, reinforcing that closing the digital divide is as much about fairness as about technology.
What next?
The Centre for Care is actively seeking collaboration and adoption of the board game model in other regions and policy arena. How do organisations use the resources in their own work? Any feedback will help them identify opportunities to support ongoing efforts to tackle digital exclusion.
For more information please visit Mind the Gap: Tackling digital exclusion | the Centre for Care
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