Census Map Game

Census Map Game (AKA Mapbusters) is a game that I led the design and development for at the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The game concept is a mashup of a simple higher-or-lower game and the 1980s TV gameshow “Blockbusters”, played on a hex map of local authorities in England and Wales.

The game was released in June 2022 to coincide with the first data release from Census 2021 and reached a wide audience, including being featured on the BBC’s Newscast podcast (listen from 26:52).

Census Map Game, as viewed on different screen sizes. ONS

A demo showing how the game is played. Ahmad Barclay/ONS

Experimental “Mapbusters” prototype which led to Census Map Game (view). Ahmad Barclay/ONS