SPIKE! is a guided storytelling card game for people living with chronic illness
Are you looking for a place to find peer support? A space that feels informative, helps you connect in real time, and isn't a huge energy drain? You're in the right place. SPIKE! is a storytelling card game for people living with Long COVID, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and other complex chronic illnesses. Players pick cards, share what comes up, and — with your permission — turn those stories into anonymized insights that help clinicians, medical students, and caregivers understand what patients actually live with.
Created by Patients for Patients.
Denise Brodey is a disability and health journalist (Forbes, HealthCentral) and a Long COVID patient herself. She designed SPIKE! as a graduate student in Harvard's Media, Medicine and Health master of Science program. She used narrative storytelling to process her own illness—and to help her doctors, family, and friends finally understand it."Talking in a support group is a great option. But research shows that adding a storytelling element to a group can help people say things that may not surface in a conversation.
"Play allows you to go there—to talk about the brain fog, stigma, and family conflicts that are hard to name. Pick up a card, and you'll be surprised what comes out. That surprise is where the healing happens."— Denise Brodey
"A 15-minute game of SPIKE! felt like a giant hug. Unlike endless internet searches that can overwhelm me, this game was simple, positive, and supportive. I want doctors to know how alone I feel." —C.P, Brookine, MA
What Game Testers Are Saying About SPIKE!
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** SPIKE is not a medical study or therapy. It is not affiliated with Harvard Medical School.It's a facilitated card game designed to help patients with chronic illness feel seen and heard. **