Children love to solve mysteries and to play detective by tracking down hidden objects. PIIQ is an interactive DIY scavenger hunt kit that encourages children (6-8 years) to work together. It contains detective tools for role play, set of themes to build up on and design their own scavenger hunt and blank clue cards to add curiosity. Each child plays a different role in one team and they need to use their respective tools for unlocking the boxes to get to the next clue. By working together, children not only learn how to solve problems and communicate but also work on rebuilding their confidence around social skills and restoring their sense of community through meaningful and collaborative moments. PIIQ contains embedded technology that elevates the game experience for the kids, adding an element of magic for a delightful interaction. PIIQ came to life with an intent to create a fair playground to encourage children’s social development which was disrupted during the pandemic.

PIIQ is a powerful game that enables play and reinforces collaboration in children. Using mini interactions at every step of the game helps in enabling creativity, co-creation and collective problem solving. Through my findings from the research and from the early interviews led me to think about how could play be a catalyst to rehabilitate social skills that were challenged during the pandemic? Specifically, “How might we structure free play outside classrooms to foster collaboration among children?” Target users being children of 6-8 years of age, who are (post-pandemic) behind in their social development, were deprived of regular social interactions, Facing social anxiety and experiencing communication challenges in/outside the classroom. I chose to design for 6-8 years old children because I feel that is that prime social development age where they start school, get independent and start making friends and develop empathy.

During the user testings and during the exhibition of the final project, playing with PIIQ made children collaborative and not competitive which helped in cultivating their social skills. Children could solve a problem by working together and ending the play with a common achievement. At each step of the interaction, it allowed them to communicate ideas, understand other’s through playful interaction while paving the way to build a deeper understanding and more powerful relationships with the peers. PIIQ was created with an intent to create a fair playground to encourage children’s social development, which was seen when the children played and interacted with it. Some design principles kept in mind throughout the process of ideation, concept development, prototyping and testing, guiding me with decision making – Pique curiosity, Collaboration not competition, Radical imagination, Help the shy ones and Nurture social competence.