Social play is crucial for developing social skills, but children with autism often struggle with group play, hindering their social development. Previous studies on autism and collaborative games have focused on structured settings related to human-computer interaction (HCI). However, in unstructured outdoor play, children with autism frequently find it hard to interact socially with peers.

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The design process includes three ethnographic design activities with two autism classes at Mattheusschool, a school for children with severe learning disabilities. This provided opportunities to design outdoor play for autistic children, user-test an initial iteration, and evaluate the final design.

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The final design is an open-ended game that promotes collaboration through playful interactions. The design shows promise in fostering collaboration through open-ended play in children with autism.