This is an April 2021 advertisement. Any subsequent shares of this post have not been asked or paid for. Melva image credits : Mortal Fools. I am not a Mental Health professional, please consult your GP if you have any concerns.
What is Melva Mapletree and the Quest for Barnabas Boggle?
Melva Mapletree and the Quest for Barnabas Boggle is an online, interactive storytelling game aimed at children aged 7-11 (and their family) to explore, understand and manage their everyday worries, niggling doubts and anxiety.
Mental Health issues are on the rise amongst young people and this game has been designed as an at-home (or school) resource to enable children to understand, talk about and explore their mental health and worries. Key components include:
- the use of accessible and child-friendly (but not condescending) language
- ideas for practical strategies plus resources and activities to try for managing worries and anxiety
- addresses mental health stigma and encourages open and honest conversation both between children and with the adults in their lives
- the use of relatable characters and interactive storytelling which puts the user in charge
What happens during the game?
The game in its most basic form, is an online self-guided interactive story. Kind of like a choose your own adventure story but around the theme of childhood anxieties.
You play the role of Gideon, who is the lead character Melva's inner (and often niggling) voice. Gideon needs a break and heads off to Blackpool for the week leaving you in charge of Melva's brain. It is your job to keep her 'worrits' (or worries) in check.
Watch the video below to get an idea of how the game works.
Once you have taken control of Melva's brain, you travel through various familiar scenarios, explore Melva's feelings and decide what actions to take. Scenes include the school yard, a cafe, home and a sweet shop.
You will hear familiar everyday worries (eg a friend not turning up to meet you at the time they said they would) and through clicking around the various scenes and associated activities, will learn a few strategies for managing these thoughts and feelings.
Throughout the game, there is a 'worrit' (or worry) meter in the corner which increases when Melva is feeling anxious and decreases when Melva's anxieties ease.
As you progress through the game, you will discover that there are four key elements:
Interactive Storytelling
There are 10 main 'levels' to work through and each player can save their progress at the end of each level. Each level deals with a different issue yet follows the same ongoing story.
Each level takes place in a familiar setting (eg the school yard). You listen to Melva's thoughts and click on various objects / choose paths to follow. Some objects allow the game to progress (eg move to another level), others share an idea for easing 'worrits' and worries and some objects are part of the story or simply for fun (eg you can make Melva choose to eat Fart flavoured sweets)
You feel fully in charge as a player and get to choose what to click on and what actions to take throughout. You are also very aware of the 'worrit' meter in the corner.
This game does deal with serious issues but the beautiful animation, lush local accents and relatable characters really help to keep things light and as you play, it does not feel serious yet you are actually dealing with a serious topic. It's very clever!
There are lots of animal friends to meet too which add a light-hearted touch and will keep kids engaged/ laughing along. We loved Stuart the 'fancy' horse, the clucking chickens and of course Feggis the mountain goat.
I would recommend playing 1 or 2 levels at a time so you do not become overwhelmed and can take everything in properly.
Video Activities
At various points in the game, there are linked video activities which allow you to explore an issue which has been discussed further. For these activities you will need your activity book or a piece of paper and a pen/pencil. Activities are usually pretty short and involve drawing your own feelings or something practical like trying laughter therapy.
Our favourite activity for a gratitude exercise with Feggis - Dee decided straight away that they were grateful for chocolate.
Games
There are a few pop-up games included in the game too which are based on the story but are there for added fun. We loved the whack-a-mole style worrit game and it did get a bit competitive as we tried to beat our high scores. The games break the learning material up really well.
Activity Booklet / Extension Activities
With the game you are sent a complimentary Activity Booklet in PDF form. You can play the game without the booklet and it isn't essential but the extra activities are excellent and I would certainly recommend having a look.
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| Activity Booklet example - Copyright Mortal Fools |
Now I am a typical millennial and do not have a printer at home but that's fine as the activities have been created in a way where you can just use your own pen and paper if needed.
The activities are brilliant and include:
- Pack Your Rucksack Drawing
- Character Factfiles
- What-if Writing Challenge
Let's talk about Feggis
In one section of the game, with the help of Feggis, you work through what to do when this happens / how you might prevent it from happening and also I think, most importantly, learn that you are not alone if this ever happens to you.
Feggis can usually be found meditating on a mountain rock or practicing yoga which really helps with his anxieties. Feggis is a great listener and Melva's best friend who always listens to her worries and teaches us the importance and listening to our friends.
Who is the game suitable for?
Older children will be able to work through the game by themselves with minimal input from parents / carers but you might want to talk to your children about the game/issues it brought up afterwards. Younger children / non-readers will probably need an adult to sit with them and work through parts of the game together. For me, I wanted to be in the same room and we chatted about the game/ issues raised as they played but I wasn't directly supervising.
We aren't experiencing any particular issues with anxiety at the moment (that I know of) but that doesn't matter. The game is still fun to play and a fantastic conversation starter / way to chat about these issues which is important for every child I think, especially after a particularly stressful year.
I say we aren't experiencing any major mental health issues at the moment, but there is no doubt the pandemic, lockdowns and being away from school, friends and family has impacted on my children and Melva online has enabled us to explore these thoughts and feelings a little further rather than just saying 'we are fine' if that makes sense? It has provided an opportunity for open discussion rather than just getting on with things.
Harry (14) is definitely too old for this now and I would not recommend for teenagers but Mortal Fools do lots of amazing work with teens and young people on other projects which you can find out more about on their website.
Our review
However for Dee and Jack, I can 100% say that this was not the case. Look at the concentration on Dee's face! They were really engaged with the content of the game and as we have all been in the same room as they have played, it has been a brilliant starting point for conversations around our own mental health and how we can be a better friend.
During the course of the game we have chatted about our emotions, decision making and whether a 'quick fix' or longer term solution is better when trying to deal with problems plus how we deal with anything that is worrying us and the importance of sharing our worries / who we can talk to.
The animation in the game is cute, the characters are relatable and quirky/funny and I love that the characters all have local accents. There is a real feeling of familiarity and safety as you play.
Obviously, the game does not replace professional help and please do speak to your GP if you are concerned but as an additional or at-home / school resource, I really do feel like this game offers fantastic value and would recommend.
Melva online has been created by Mortal Fools, a multi award-winning creative learning charity based here in Northumberland, with supported funds from Arts Council England, Northumberland County Council, Public Health Northumberland and Gateshead Council. I am really proud that something so important has been produced here in the North East.
Melva online tackles a whole range of anxieties and issues and provides ideas for dealing with them / encourages us to think of ways we might be able to help ourselves. Issues explored include:
- Niggling voices in your head
- Laughing exercises
- Why / why not you might want to talk to grown ups about your worries
- Anger
- Feeling safe
- Grussles
- Fight or flight mode / Freezing when under pressure
- Being taken seriously by grown ups
- Exploring and understanding your own feelings
- How to help others who are feeling anxious or worried
- Coping strategies
I have personally taken the time to complete Melva online myself as part of my research for this post, and although I am definitely not their prime target audience, I actually enjoyed it too and it was good as a parent to learn about different ways children can learn to cope with their everyday worries and how I can better understand them too.
Tell me about schools & future plans......
Seriously though, there are plans for a Melva film to be screened later this year (hopefully October Half Term) which I would highly recommend looking out for. I will let you know when it's all confirmed.
Melva online is also available to schools and community groups with a slightly different version which is more tailored to teachers and a classroom environment. My children regularly take part in wellbeing days at school and I think Melva online would be absolutely perfect for this. There are plans for workshops/ school theatre and a wider offering available to schools later this year too. Schools and community groups can find out more / purchase Melva online or register their interest here.
Technical Information & where to buy
Melva online requires internet / mobile connection and can be played on a phone, tablet, PC or Mac. I would recommend primarily accessing and playing via a tablet or PC/Mac laptop or desktop as it is a little tricky to play on a phone and the text is fairly small. To get the most from the experience, you need a tablet / computer screen size ideally.
Melva online is available for an introductory cost of £9.99 which includes unlimited access to the online game for up to four household users, a user guide and accompanying activity book to download.
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