ConnectUs — Connecting through Play
Interactive + playable public artwork | 2020-Present
Board game, custom tokens, plywood, acrylic paint
Connection begins with a single question.
ConnectUs is an interactive board game and facilitated workshop designed to spark meaningful human connection through play. Using the familiar form of the board game Connect Four, the artwork features conversation prompts on each token that invite participants to ask questions, share about themselves, and listen to their game partner as they play.
We all need to belong. Yet in our increasingly globalised world, loneliness and disconnection are on the rise. Shockingly, in Australia more than 53% of university students feel they don’t belong. And it increases in the workplace, where 77% of Aussie workers feel excluded. This is bad for our mental and physical health and it’s bad for business. For universities and schools, the cost is lower grades and missed student engagement. For businesses, it is 60% less productivity.
ConnectUs offers a playful alternative. It is a less intimidating template for cultivating empathy, trust, and belonging in groups. The game was designed during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when befriending strangers seemed like an unlikely prospect. It is grounded in both personal insight and psychology research. Jade transformed her experience of moving home more than 30 times across the globe, into practical methods to make new meaningful friendships quickly. Each ConnectUs prompt is informed by Jade’s learnings combined with the Self-Expansion Model of human connection — a theory that shows how mutual vulnerability and shared experiences can foster belonging.
The artwork was first commissioned by RMIT University, where ConnectUs was so popular with students that it has since been licensed for ongoing use across their campuses in Melbourne and Vietnam. It has also been featured in a City of Melbourne Playable Parklet, connected attendees at Expos, and played by various private groups and companies. To date, the game has been played over 5,000 times and continues to turn strangers into friends.
Belonging isn’t passive. It’s built — one conversation at a time.
ConnectUs at RMIT University, Case Study
Turning Strangers into Friends
ConnectUs has become a powerful tool for sparking genuine connection between students at RMIT University open days and social events,
Whether it’s bringing together students from the same program who’ve never met, helping someone who arrived alone find a new friend to explore the day with, or deepening a budding friendship through shared reflection — ConnectUs turns simple gameplay into moments of belonging.
Strangers come together to play. Within 20–60 minutes, they’re laughing, sharing, and planning their next coffee catch-up, lunch, or shared adventure. It’s more than a game. It’s a doorway into meaningful human connection.
Project Commissions + Custom Builds
Want to bring ConnectUs to your space, team, or community?
This playable artwork is available as a pop-up installation, permanent feature, or bespoke edition tailored to your event, audience, or goals.
Whether it’s a university campus, a festival, a workplace wellbeing week or a community-building initiative, each game can be fully customised — including branded design, bespoke questions, or facilitated experiences.
Email hello@jadearmstrong.art to enquire about collaboration, licensing, or commissioning a custom version.
