The purpose of The HSP Challenge is to demonstrate in a fun and engaging way the usefulness of different sets of minimum humanitarian standards to diverse actors at each stage of a crisis. Download board game.

There is also an accompanying set of postcards which can be integrated into the game for quick reference. Download postcards.

Photo: HSP board game

Concept and development

About the HSP: The Humanitarian Standards Partnership (HSP), hosted by Sphere, is a network of standard-setting initiatives and organisations which supports quality and accountability in humanitarian action by promoting the development and cross-sectoral use of standards.

Concept: To replace out of date HSP materials, we decided to design something that would be useful in addition to simply providing information. Given the hundreds of Sphere workshops that happen around the world each year and following the great popularity of our Sphere Handbook Activity Cards, we believe the new board game will become another sought-after and treasured item – and the accompanying postcards are a flexible alternative to a brochure given the dynamic nature of the HSP.

Quality control: Germany is known for having a strong board game playing tradition and a world-class reputation for designing them… Which is why we are grateful to Axel and Markus from our German focal point for being the first play-testers of this game!

Design

To create a treasured learning product, aesthetics are also important… Which is why we once again partnered with Lydia Thornley so that our postcards feature some new, unique and beautiful illustrations fresh from her easel. Read Lydia’s blog for further details of this design project.

Photo: HSP postcards

The HSP board game and postcards are available for free download in English, French, Spanish and Arabic from the HSP website. If you would like to translate them into your language, please contact the Sphere office to acquire editable files.