Frequently Asked Questions

Who is using the game, and how is it working for them?  16 states (from coast to coast!), plus Australia and the UK – that shows the spread of the game so far.  More than half of the users are educators, School Districts with McKinney-Vento funded programs notable among them.  Colleges and high schools are other large users, supporting preparation, reflection, and engagement in service programs.  Service providers use the games for staff training and orientation, as well as volunteer and client engagement.  Churches use the game in their rotating shelters, youth programs, and outreach.  It is common for new customers to order one or two games to try them out and follow with a larger order to enable them to broaden the game’s use deeper into training programs, as “training” programs develop into “training the trainers” programs.

Can we make changes to the game to adapt it for our own use?  Absolutely!  While the game cards include blanks for this very purpose, some of our major users have made major adjustment to the use of the game, integrating it with other training and educational materials, etc.  As we improve our “Learning Community” development on, blog, and social media, we’ll make it easier for our customers to directly share their ideas.

 How does the game work?  3-6 players sit at a board, rolling a die to advance from the start (living with roommates) hoping to advance to “Home, Sweet Home” but at risk of falling back into various levels of homelessness.  Opportunity Cards (good things that people in the shelter described in their lives) often move them further ahead, and Challenge Cards (things that the shelter residents named as going wrong) move them down.  Along the way, Question Cards (the kind of questions that the people had to answer when they were experiencing homelessness) draw all of the players into the game, making it very real, a trip for the heart and not just the head.  The game ends when one (or all!) players have reached Home Sweet Home with all five of the credentials required (I.D., health card, etc.)

Who can play the game?  Home Sweet Homelessness is designed for adult players, but is often recommended by these players for youth.  Cards can be changed to adapt the game for children.  It is effectively played by including at each board one or more players who have experienced homelessness. Groups have, however, effectively evoked the power of empathy with play of non-homeless groups, for example by assigning roles of persons experiencing homelessness to each player.  The game also serves well in shelters, played by residents together, to facilitate and encourage communication, orient them to the culture and community, and build relationships.

How long does the game take to play?  In training programs, play of 45 minutes can provide sufficient impact to engage minds and hearts for post-play reflection, discussion, learning, and planning.  Like many games of chance, the duration of a single game can be from 30 minutes to a few hours…but we learn with every toss of the die, so the game may be stopped at any time without significantly impacting learning.

May I arrange for the game event to be provided for a group that I know?  Home Sweet Homelessness has been well-rated by groups in churches, community organizations, and schools.  During this evaluation period, interested groups should e-mail us at John@HomeSweetHomelessness.org to arrange for this.  We prefer to provide not only games, but “Game Guides”, people right in your area (through a local agency partner) who have experienced homelessness and are good at helping groups make the most of game play.

 Who are the people promoting the game?  Three of the original game designers serve as ongoing “Game Guides”, including Lynn Cifka and Liz Coon, two of the co-inventors.  The third co-inventor, John Daniels, is a retired educator and homeless advocate who challenged his “class” at Goodwill Inn in northern Michigan to create this game, and serves as its “Lead Servant” and the general organizer of the effort to distribute it.  His career of program development, training, and strategic planning provides the basis for our training-related products and services.  Finally, Tom Ockert, one of the champions of a game that preceded Home Sweet Homelessness (and inspired the determination to go further) serves in promoting the use of the game in the local community.

What is the cost of the games?  Any discounts for quantity?  What happens with the revenues? Games are just $25, plus tax and postage.  Since pricing of the games has been set very low to serve our mission and vision, discounts are limited to large quantities by arrangement.  Mailing costs decrease greatly when multiple games are ordered, however.  100% of revenue supports our mission to narrow the social distance between those with homes and those without.

 Is it necessary to play the game with players who have been homeless and people who have not?  The original energy of the game came from the interaction between the designers – guests of the Goodwill Inn shelter – and the players who had come from the community.  So the game continues to be encouraged in this kind of setting – played by those with homes and those without.  But as the game finds its way across the country and even abroad, people are finding ways to engage that kind of empathy and understanding. In Las Vegas schools, teachers play the game together after drawing “role cards” that assign each of them the role of a person experiencing homelessness.  Many families play the game at home, parents and children, and find it an opportunity to begin to imagine the problem’s complexity, when they realize that the situations in the game are beyond their understanding.

What do we need to know about “Game Guides”?  Game guides (players who have immediate or recent experience with homelessness) are literally resources for those of us with homes, helping us understand, and opening for us a part of reality that is new to us. So we have learned some basic points in recruiting them to play the game:

• Recruiting: not all those with experience of homelessness have interest, inclination, and aptitude to participate in the game. It requires social skills and willingness to disclose.  Pressure must be avoided.  Recruiting is best done by a community partner agency.
• Training: playing the game with potential Game Guides where they feel comfortable, with other friends in their situation allows us to get a sense of who might be interested in playing with others who have not experienced homelessness. Conversation after play clarifies the role of the Game Guides.
• Coordination: Hosting a game means bringing games and guides. We have learned the importance of respecting the time given by our guides by seeing that a small stipend (generally $20-30 or perhaps a bus pass) is provided, with a personal note from the host.  We also find that driving them to and from the game provides us an opportunity to prepare and then to reflect, coaching and learning with them both ways, while validating their importance.

Would the game work at conferences?  Yes, because its easy, effective, and impactful play can fit into a 50 minute module, focuses conference participants’ hearts and minds on the programs of the conference, and serves as an icebreaker, too.  Affordable Housing?  Poverty Reduction?  Volunteer Coordination?  Fundraising and Development?  In a large room with multiple boards being played, the din begins quickly, with laughter and reverent insight merging. Players move on to content sessions as interested participants, not casual observers.

Our church does a lot of outreach work.  Would the game be good to consider for us?  Yes, for mission preparation and use in outreach.  Because churches are often called to respond to a call for compassion and service to the poor, church groups are among the most responsive users of Home Sweet Homelessness. Playing the game prior to service with Game Guides helps them grow beyond their self-doubt or aversion, freeing them to warmly and courageously be present to those they meet.  They bring more love into their service, and they bring more spiritual insight back to the congregation when they return.

We think the game would be good for High School students.  What do you think?

• With adults: We have observed High School students playing effectively at tables with their parents and adult mentors. While the printed cards and situations on the board were authored by adults in a shelter, sensitive youth respond well to the game and gain insight and awareness.
• Students with homes and those without: Remember that there are 1.1 MILLION students in the U.S. who are experiencing homelessness! So the game provides an opportunity for students with homes and those without to play the game together to help break down class or status barriers where they exist in schools.
• Blank cards are provided with every game, to enable users to add new questions, challenges, and opportunities to suit their own needs, like young players.

How quickly can we receive games after our order?  We generally ship within a day of receiving orders, and USPS Priority Mail ships across the country within 4 business days.  Rush orders?  E-mail us John@HomeSweetHomelessness.org for quicker mailing and rates