Things do not change; we change. ~Thoreau
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The Resilience Games

The winning resilience games were announced October 13, 2022 at the Meaningful Play Conference

One New Message

Eloise Best

England

One New Message available to play now

Plus: a free lesson plan about resilience & coping strategies.

New Sun

Massimo Di Cesare

Colmena Games

Colombia

UnEarth

Robin Ghosh

Team UnEarth

Canada

UnEarth available to play now



The Path

Hugo Gonçalves

Portugal

What's Next?!?

Shelley Wilson

U.S.A.

More Coming Soon

One New Message and UnEarth resilience games available now. More coming soon. Register for our newsletter to be notified when new resilience games are published.

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Resilience heart filled with coping strategies.

What is resilience?

"Resilience is the psychological quality that allows some people to be knocked down by the adversities of life and come back at least as strong as before. Rather than letting difficulties, traumatic events, or failure overcome them and drain their resolve, highly resilient people find a way to change course, emotionally heal, and continue moving toward their goals."

~ Psychology Today [emphasis added]

"an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change"

~ Merriam-Webster

"[...] resilience is defined as the process of effectively negotiating, adapting to, or managing significant sources of stress or trauma."

~ Cambridge University Press [emphasis added]

"Resilience is your ability to cope with and bounce back from stress and adversity, and hopefully even grow through the experience. It is sometimes referred to as 'thriving' . . . and not just surviving."

~ CornellHealth [emphasis added]

"Reducing the effects of significant adversity on children’s healthy development is essential to the progress and prosperity of any society. Science tells us that some children develop resilience, or the ability to overcome serious hardship, while others do not. Understanding why some children do well despite adverse early experiences is crucial, because it can inform more effective policies and programs that help more children reach their full potential."

~ Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University [emphasis added]

"Resilience refers to the ability to successfully adapt to stressors, maintaining psychological well-being in the face of adversity. It’s the ability to 'bounce back' from difficult experiences. Resilience is not a trait that people either have or don’t have. It involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and developed in everyone.

"Resilience is about being adaptable. It’s about being flexible. It’s about recognizing that we’ve got strengths that perhaps we never knew we had until we have to use them. [...]

"Resilient people are able to adapt to stress, crises, and trauma. They find ways to bounce back from the ups and downs of life and move forward. Some people are born with a strong sense of resilience. Others may need to learn skills and develop resilience. [...] Remember that resilience is a skill, like riding a bike. The more you practice, the better you’ll be."

~ U.S. Department of State [emphasis added]

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Do not judge me by my successes. Judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. ~Nelson Mandela
Using coping skills and healthy relationships to foster resilience.

Resilience: Attributes, Characteristics, and Factors

An important point about resilience.

Below are some attributes and characteristics associated with individual resilience. However, it is important to know that some of the factors associated with a person's resilience are not within their control. External factors affecting resilience include a person's biology, their environment, their life experiences, and the resources available to them.


Some people will more easily "bounce back" than others based on these, and other, factors.


Through resilience-building games, our intention is to focus on helping young people build skills that have been shown to make people generally more resilient. We believe that if young people are taught resilience-building skills and are empowered to practice them, that they will become more resilient over time.


In addition to building resilience, these skills are also conducive to living happier, healthier lives!

individual skills supporting resilience

  • communication skills
  • coping skills
  • listening skills
  • interpersonal skills
  • problem solving skills
  • relationship skills

environmental and historical conditions supporting resilience

  • healthy personal relationships
  • material resources
  • positive childhood experiences
  • robust support systems
  • social justice
  • stable communities

personal attributes, characteristics, and skills supporting resilience

  • acceptance
  • accepts help
  • adaptability
  • assertiveness
  • autonomy
  • commitment
  • compromise
  • confidence
  • connectedness
  • creative problem solving
  • critical thinking
  • curiosity
  • embraces change
  • empathy
  • empowerment
  • flexibility
  • focused on the present
  • grateful
  • healthy skepticism
  • impulse control
  • improvisation
  • intellectual curiosity
  • internal locus of control
  • kindness for themselves and others
  • knowledge
  • learning from experience
  • mindfulness
  • motivated
  • open-minded
  • patient
  • persistent
  • purpose
  • realistic optimism
  • recognizes opportunities
  • self-compassion
  • self-efficacy
  • sense of humor
  • staying connected
  • takes action
  • tolerance
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Articles and Resources About Resilience

Here are some resources and articles about resilience that helped inform the creation of the new resilience games.

Man's mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimension. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
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