FAQ - About the Game
Bee The Change – The Influence Hive™ is a face-to-face board game and consultation tool that turns conversations into influence. It helps residents, staff, and boards co-create better services, safer homes, and stronger communities.
Unlike a traditional board game, Bee The Change doesn’t aim to “win” – it’s designed to build understanding, empathy, and practical solutions. Every player’s experience adds to the Hive’s collective insight.
It’s built for the social housing sector – for residents, housing staff, leaders, and partners who want to strengthen engagement, influence, and accountability.
Because bees work best when they work together – just like communities. The Hive represents collective strength, shared purpose, and the idea that small actions create big change.
The Hive is the visual centre of the game. Each hexagonal cell represents an area of influence, showing how different voices connect to shape one bigger picture of improvement.
Bees symbolise cooperation, resilience, and community. The honeycomb shape reflects equality – every cell is important, and no voice is more valuable than another.
Each box includes the full game board, six sets of Pollen Cards, six Collaboration Round packs, Impact Tokens, the 200-page Support Book, and quick-start guides for facilitators.
Most sessions last between 90 minutes and 2 hours, depending on group size and depth of discussion.
Ideal group size is 8–10 participants per board. 8 players, supported by one trained facilitator and one trained researcher..
It uses plain English, visual cues, and open conversation rather than jargon. There are Easy Read versions, translated materials, and card sets that can be adapted for any ability or confidence level.
FAQ - Collaboration Rounds
A Collaboration Round is a themed scenario – such as Fire Safety, Damp & Mould, Complaints, or Anti-Social Behaviour – that guides players through 10 real-life situations to explore, debate, and prioritise.
Each round poses a question or scenario. Players discuss, draw Pollen Cards for prompts, and use Impact Tokens to shape collective decisions and solutions.
The core game includes six themed rounds, with expansion packs available for new topics across housing, safety, and community themes.
Yes. Organisations can design custom rounds using the templates in the Support Book – ideal for local issues, policy reviews, or service-specific consultations.
Yes – every round has a resident-facing and a staff reflection version to ensure both perspectives are captured fairly.
Each round aligns with sector expectations such as Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs), Awaab’s Law, the Housing Ombudsman Code, and the new Consumer Standards.
Facilitators record insights on digital or printed feedback sheets. These can then be analysed against service standards, themes, and sentiment trends.
FAQ - Pollen Cards
Pollen Cards are prompts that spark conversation. They’re split into four types – Action, Ideas, Discussion, and Challenge – to help groups move from talk to tangible outcomes.
Players draw cards during each scenario. The card type sets the tone: “Action” for practical fixes, “Ideas” for creative solutions, “Discussion” for open debate, and “Challenge” to question assumptions.
There are 72 Pollen Cards per round (18 of each type), designed to balance problem-solving and empathy.
Yes. Organisations can co-write cards to fit local policy reviews, community projects, or internal reflection workshops.
Cards create psychological safety. They shift the focus from individuals to ideas – helping quieter voices join in and sparking creativity without confrontation.
Yes. Every Collaboration and Pollen Round is grounded in lived experience gathered from residents, housing staff, and insight research across the sector.
FAQ - Tokens and Scoring
Tokens represent the value of contributions made in each discussion – Blue for Constructive Engagement, Purple for Empathy, and Green for Solution-Building.
Participants earn tokens for thoughtful ideas, respectful challenge, or actionable solutions. At the end, the Hive is filled with the collective impact of everyone’s voice.
No. The goal is collective progress – when the Hive is full, the group has achieved shared influence.
Facilitators summarise outcomes using the Support Book or digital templates. Insights can then feed into policy reviews, service-standard updates, or board reporting.
FAQ - The Philosophy Behind the Game
Gamification removes hierarchy and encourages empathy. It makes difficult conversations easier, fairer, and more human.
It creates space for every voice — from confident contributors to those who are usually silent. Visual tools and structured turns ensure equal participation.
The design blends community psychology, nudge theory, and behavioural insight. It uses collaborative play to turn attitudes into actions and stories into evidence.
Because empathy grows in person. Physical gameplay builds trust and understanding that digital surveys can’t replicate.
Every round produces measurable insight showing where residents have shaped policy, practice, and service improvements.
FAQ - Workshops and Facilitation
A 1-day facilitated session where 8–10 staff or residents play through the game, reflect on real-life issues, and learn to gather and interpret the insights it produces.
Any trained facilitator, community engagement officer, or resident champion who has completed our “Facilitate with Confidence” training webinar or in-person workshop.
You’ll receive the 200-page Support Book, facilitator quick-start guide, reporting templates, PowerPoint resources, and access to our online support hub.
Absolutely. Many organisations use Bee The Change for reflection sessions on culture, communication, empathy, and customer accountability.
Yes. We host regular live webinars and recorded sessions covering facilitation tips, impact reporting, and designing your own Collaboration Rounds.
Use the Impact Log included in the Support Book or the digital reporting template. Insights can be exported into your CRM or governance reports.
Yes – with facilitator training, residents can run their own rounds safely and effectively, supported by our step-by-step guides.
FAQ - Impact, Insight & Community
Each session produces themed insights linked to service standards. These are collated and shared with decision-makers to shape policy, process, and accountability.
Yes. The outputs from Collaboration Rounds directly evidence customer voice, influence, and service-improvement action.
It’s our cross-sector learning community — connecting housing associations, local authorities, and community partners who use Bee The Change to share outcomes and best practice.
Yes. Insights gathered through gameplay can feed anonymised contributions into wider housing-sector research and benchmarking.
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FAQ - Online Events & Meet-Ups
They’re live, interactive sessions where players, facilitators, and housing professionals come together to share experiences, explore new Collaboration Rounds, and learn how others are using Bee The Change in real-world settings.
No — many sessions are open to anyone interested in inclusive resident engagement. Some events, like the Collaboration Round Deep Dive, benefit from having the game on hand, but observers and newcomers are always welcome.
Our calendar includes themed Deep Dives, Pollen Card Masterclasses, Measuring Influence workshops, Resident Champions’ Circles, and The Hive Network cross-sector sessions. Each focuses on learning, reflection, and shared practice.
Most events last around 60–90 minutes and include breakout discussions, live polls, and optional Q&A. Every session is designed to be interactive, energising, and inclusive.
Yes — with participants’ consent. Recordings are shared with registered attendees afterward, along with downloadable slides, discussion summaries, and key take-away actions.
Absolutely. The sessions are built for collaboration across roles and perspectives. Everyone’s voice carries equal weight — whether you’re a resident, officer, or senior leader.
You can view upcoming sessions and register directly via the Events page at https://beethechange.website/events. You’ll also find sign-up links in our monthly newsletter and social-media updates.