About Board Game Therapy™

What Board Game Therapy™ is

Board Game Therapy™ is a facilitation framework created by Sean Smith. It helps groups use tabletop games intentionally for connection, growth, and meaningful group experiences. Rather than leaving outcomes to chance, BGT™ offers structured methods for matching games to goals, guiding productive discussion, and carrying useful insights beyond the table.

The framework centers on the TABLE method: Target, Assess, Build, Lead, Extract & Extend. Facilitators use TABLE to shape the encounter before, during, and after play. The guiding maxim is: Shape the encounter, not the person.

BGT™ treats tabletop games as structured social spaces where groups can practice problem-solving, collaboration, and honest conversation. The method offers intentional structure across different group types, from community tables to coaching and clinical adjunct settings.

Board Game Therapy is not inherently psychotherapy. Its use depends on the facilitator, scope, setting, and purpose. Licensed clinicians may integrate structured play into an existing treatment relationship; Host and Coach applications remain nonclinical. Playing a board game does not automatically make an activity therapy.

The framework operates across three application scopes: Host (Leaders & Facilitators), Coach, and Therapist. Branded outcome evidence is still developing; adjacent research on connection and group process may inform the work, and formal evaluation remains a next step. Start with what BGT is and is not for the short definition.

Founder

Sean Smith developed Board Game Therapy™ from facilitation practice and professional work with groups that needed clearer structure around shared play. The framework grew from noticing that good tables already create connection, and that intentional design (goal, readiness, facilitation, and board-first reflection) helps that connection carry into everyday life with more intention without inventing therapy claims from game behavior alone.

Ready to learn more? Join the book waitlist, or reach out to discuss whether BGT is a fit for your context.