[Life Chapter 3 Companies] Job Creation Through Board Games 'PlaySix'

CEO Jo Hye-young, Former Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Newspaper

Jo Hyeyoung, CEO of Play6. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Inside Owl House in Mapo-gu, Seoul, a variety of board games were lined up. Under bright and warm lighting, the space was filled with various board games produced by ‘Haengbokhan Baobab,’ a collaborator with Play6. On the 10th, Asia Economy met with Cho Hye-young, CEO of Play6 (56). Formerly the editor-in-chief of Women’s Newspaper, Cho was captivated by the joy of board games through her encounter with the CEO of the board game production company ‘Haengbokhan Baobab’ during her hectic career as a journalist. This led to the establishment of a company utilizing board games.

‘Play6’ is a startup specializing in board game programs, established in 2017. It focuses on the diverse potential of board games as educational content. The company develops board game-based educational programs aimed at improving cognition in children, adolescents, and the elderly, and supplies these programs to partner institutions. They also train professional board game instructors. Since the company’s revenue model is based on B2G (business to government) board game supply, they aim to expand partnerships with various community organizations and local governments.

CEO Cho is a former journalist. From 2010 to 2016, she served as editor-in-chief at Women’s Newspaper. Despite a busy life for over six years, she constantly felt anxious, wondering, “Is this really okay?” The world was rapidly changing. With the digitalization of news accelerating, her workload increased dramatically. As online responses sped up, she found herself overwhelmed by online desk work for article dispatch. She began to worry, “Can I adapt well to this rapidly changing world?”

Amid the challenging changes in the media environment, she also felt increasingly overwhelmed by life as a ‘working mom.’ At that time, she was writing a project report on the ‘Working Mom Pain Index,’ conducted jointly by Women’s Newspaper and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. In the report, she wrote that “the pain index of working moms in their mid-30s is alarming.” She felt as if she was writing her own story. She thought, “I can’t endure this any longer.” Eventually, she decided to prepare for a new life after journalism. That’s when she focused on board games.

She explained, “Through my connection with the CEO of the board game production company ‘Haengbokhan Baobab,’ I discovered the joy of board games, which inspired me to commercialize the idea.” She added, “Our educational programs are gradually shifting from knowledge learning to cognitive improvement through enjoyable experiences, and board games serve as excellent teaching tools for this.” Since board games can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders, she believes they have high potential as expandable content.

Play6 plans to expand its business this year by focusing on ‘active seniors.’ She said, “Elderly people usually have two main concerns: one is how to play well with their grandchildren, and the other is employment.” She explained, “Play6’s senior board game instructor training course is based on these two aspects.” Seniors can become closer to their grandchildren by learning how to use and teach board games, and they can also gain employment by educating other elderly people who need cognitive enhancement.

- What kind of company is Play6?

▲ We create educational content using board games. Board games are often perceived merely as toys for children. However, we believe board games are excellent teaching materials that can naturally improve an individual’s cognitive abilities. Play6 helps utilize board games as content in after-school classes or community elderly care programs. In short, we are a company that facilitates collaboration to enable board games to be used as programs in various fields.

- So, is it correct to see Play6 as a company that develops and supplies board game educational programs rather than producing board games themselves?

▲ That’s right. We do not manufacture board games directly; instead, we create and teach various educational programs using board games. For example, we develop cognitive enhancement programs for children with developmental disabilities and growth programs for students with learning difficulties, supplying and educating partner institutions. We also train ‘board game instructors’ and dispatch them to partner organizations.

- How do you create educational programs using board games? Aren’t board games already content with fixed rules made by manufacturers?

▲ Board games are produced by manufacturers with basic rules at the launch stage. We create modified or adapted rules. Depending on the target group, we alter various rules to compose programs. The core is mixing multiple board games to design programs that achieve specific educational effects. For example, to improve spatial perception in the elderly, we mix and match various games to design an educational curriculum.

In particular, we collaborate with the board game education content specialist ‘Haengbokhan Board Game Academy’ and the board game developer ‘Haengbokhan Baobab’ to create various silver-exclusive contents. We also develop diverse programs for different elderly groups. While most elderly content focuses on educational programs for those at risk of dementia or with mild cognitive impairment, we also organize programs for ‘active seniors’?elderly people who actively seek activities and consumption after retirement. The core content is for healthy seniors to enjoy with their grandchildren. We are also preparing programs that enable active seniors to become board game instructors and gain employment.

- Is it a program to train active seniors as board game instructors?

▲ Yes. It is a program where healthy elderly people become board game instructors and engage in educating elderly people with cognitive impairments. This is also conducted in collaboration with ‘Haengbokhan Board Game Academy.’ It is called the ‘Senior Board Game Instructor Course.’ Active seniors work as board game instructors to help older generations. It can be seen as promoting social ‘nono care’ (elderly caring for the elderly).

- Where are the board game instructors trained by Play6 mainly deployed?

▲ We have agreements with various local governments and public institutions. For elderly programs, there is demand for these programs and instructors at elderly care centers and welfare centers throughout the regions. Mainly for dementia prevention.

- Are there any programs that received particularly good responses?

▲ Most programs have been well received. Participants enjoy gathering, laughing, chatting, and doing something with their hands. However, a program provided by the Gangwon Province branch of the Korean Senior Citizens Association last year stands out. We participated in an outdoor event like a sports day involving six senior centers in Gangwon Province. It was conducted like a board game competition, and participants responded positively. It left the impression that board games are an excellent means to improve physical and cognitive abilities in the elderly. We hope more senior centers will participate in this year’s event.