‘Playing games turns me into a person who makes sense’

When he was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 40, author Tim Clare saw a link to his lifelong love of board games. Here, he explains the power of the game for those who struggle to understand the rules of lifeFeel free to play with any of those,” said the psychologist, gesturing to the games on the table. There were a couple of travel puzzles, a clear plastic pachinko game, a notepad and some pencils. I had a sneaking suspicion this was still part of the test. As she made notes from our session, I picked up a pencil and started sketching Meowth from Pokémon.Three years ago, at the age of 40, I was diagnosed as autistic. I’d been speaking to autistic board gamers as research for my book on how games connect people and a few people asked if I’d ever considered that I might be autistic. In hindsight, it seems obvious – the psychologist called me “the most fantastically autistic person I’ve ever assessed”, which I suppose is an achievement – but I sat through the two-day test feeling like an impostor. I thought at any moment they would frown and say: “Why are you here? You’re not autistic. You just love games.” Continue reading...