Treehouse Dreams: A Game-Based Method for Eliciting Interview Data from Children.

Treehouse Dreams is a card game that can simultaneously function as an ice breaker for children engaged in group activities, and as a research tool for interviewing children. The game, which asks players to collectively imagine a fantasy treehouse, incorporates game design techniques that encourage openness and sharing. The game is also easily customizable for a variety of research agendas. We describe a case study across two different lab environments, in which Treehouse Dreams was effectively used both to introduce young participants to the study environment and to draw out relevant information for research.