Doing the 25 is all about getting out and making new connections by playing 25 different people. In normal times we encourage those doing the 25 to take their set out to public spaces such as a library, cafe or park and to meet and play different people. It may lead to a brief moment of interaction, a different perspective to your own which makes you think or it may lead to a lifelong friendship – you won’t know until you try. 

At the moment many people are feeling more isolated than ever and whilst we all have to be mindful of maintaining physical distancing it has never been more important that we remain connected. If you’re not able to play face to face games then we are encouraging playing games on digital platforms such as zoom or over the phone and ‘do the 25’ that way. There are some people who have had to self isolate for several months, who have been playing 5asideCHESS with each other over the phone a couple of moves a night, with a game taking a few days. It’s given them a reason to make contact each day – it’s sometimes hard to find things just to chat about if you haven’t been anywhere or done anything – and also rather than watching constant, depressing news, they’ve been using their time positively during the day to consider their next moves. More than one person has credited this activity with getting them through lockdown.  

Download the 5asideCHESS master course via the link below and you can get started on your journey. You can download a board from the site or you can purchase our #helpYOURself programme which includes a cardBOARD penny PIECE set, 30 step life skills journey and a personally engraved medal when you have completed your 25 games.

‘Doing the 25’ is a journey of connection and personal self discovery. The 5asideCHESS set is a simple tool to help people meet new people, to have meaningful encounters, broaden perspectives, find purpose, maintain and improve mental health and wellbeing and in the process, to help others and to help reconnect our society. The idea couldn’t be simpler and yet couldn’t be more important.