10107771Dragons of Afterlands: Implementing an AR-social board game that improves wellbeing into education and healthcare settingsClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKAdolescent mental health is a growing societal issue. Traditionally, CAMHS support young people with mental health challenges. Given the pressures on these services, it is increasingly the responsibility of schools to support struggling young people, with increasing requirements from the the government and Ofsted to demonstrate how schools are supporting mental health and wellbeing of young people. Our project, Dragons of Afterlands, builds on the success of our previous Mindset XR Strand 1 initiative, which developed an augmented reality board game as a scientifically-backed psychological intervention for adolescents. In response to the increasing importance of adolescent mental health, we recognise the need for innovative solutions, especially as schools take on a larger role in supporting youth due to strain on existing mental health services. Our Dragons of Afterlands game is an evidence-based wellbeing intervention using augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI). Co-produced with young people, teachers, and clinical psychologists, it takes a preventative, comprehensive, personalized, and social approach to adolescent mental health. The game can be played in person, remotely, and in a hybrid mode, making it versatile and accessible. The game has proven to be an engaging and effective approach in previous trials, with the AR component playing a crucial role in facilitating learning and its application beyond the game context. Dragons of Afterlands is a first-to-market AR serious board game delivering personalised mental health interventions through a social experience. It is more cost-effective than existing immersive solutions and boasts a superior evidence base. In recognition of its excellence, the game was awarded at the European Game-Based Learning educational games competition in 2023\. Expanding on our previous work, which showed our game improved wellbeing of young people in schools, our project explores diverse approaches to improve the delivery of wellbeing services and tests these implementation methods. Through research and development and pilots, we aim to understand the design of viable implementation services, identify barriers and enablers to adoption, and refine our product based on feedback and compliance with standards.