The Quest for
Barnabas Boggle
A choose your own adventure game
designed as a sequel to the Melva film.
Available to Primary Schools and Trusts everywhere NOW.
An interactive, online
game about making the
right choices
Melva Mapletree and the Quest for Barnabas Boggle is an interactive, online game which teaches children about the importance of making the right choices.
This game acts as a sequel to the original Melva story with a brand new Melva adventure unfolding and shifting the emphasis onto exploring relationships and supporting others, whilst still looking after for yourself.
In this choose-your-own-adventure style game, users take on the role of Melva’s niggling voice – making decisions about what she says and does. When Melva’s best friend, Barnabas, doesn’t turn up to meet her after school, users must help Melva search Scratchicle Town for clues about his whereabouts and why he’s disappeared. As well as choosing the right path, users must also complete fun games and activities along the way to help keep Melva’s worrits under control.
About the
Melva game
Children can play Melva Mapletree and the Quest for Barnabas Boggle as individuals, or as part of a group. As they play, children will…
Make decisions for Melva as her ‘niggling voice’
Users take on the role of Melva’s niggling voice, while her usual – and rather annoying – niggling voice, Gideon, is away on holiday. As Melva looks for answers about Barnabas’ disappearance, they’ll have the chance to choose what Melva says and does in response to the information she gathers. But they must be careful to make the right choices – or they risk setting Melva’s worritmeter off!
Explore
Scratchicle Town
as they search for clues
As users work through the game levels, they’ll uncover clues about Barnabas’ whereabouts and more information about Scratchicle Town – the place Melva calls home. This information is disguised in ‘clickable’ items, ready to be discovered by the users as they explore the game. Some of these clickable items are just for fun, whilst others help to move the story along, or trigger a game, activity or discussion point.
Interactive games, activities and discussions, both online and offline
Practical games and activities designed to develop and embed learning are scattered throughout the game for children to enjoy. These are easily facilitated thanks to our engaging and attractive activity booklets and user guide, which also include suggested discussion prompts, to help you get the best quality of conversation and reflection from your children.
Playing the Game – a note for schools
For schools, we recommend working through the game as a whole class – using an interactive whiteboard to make decisions together, play games, and have shared discussions.
Or, if you want to use the game with a small intervention group or make it available for your children to use at home, you’ll still have the option to set them up with individual user accounts.
What you and your
children gain from the
online game
The Melva programme is rooted in practical and legitimate mental health research
Melva specifically focuses on providing children, young people, and the adults in their lives with accessible language and a creative context to make talking and learning about mental wellbeing easier. Specific benefits of the game package include…
Developing empathy and understanding healthy relationships
This Melva story focuses on better understanding our relationships with other people – friends, teachers, parents, and even celebrities. Through storytelling and discussion, children will explore how they can provide positive support for others, and how different relationships can impact our wellbeing, both positively and negatively.
A chance to experiment and play
One of the key reasons the Melva programme works is because it is fun. Children can learn and talk about sensitive topics in a way that is not heavy handed or intense, and the inclusion of playful features like our ‘whack-a-worrit’ game, or the clickable items on each level help to keep children engaged throughout.
Understanding the importance of making good choices
Throughout the game, children are presented with multiple choice options for what they think Melva should say or do – but some of these options are not always productive. By including choices which are silly, daft, or harmful, children have the autonomy to make the wrong choice, understand the impact, and then try again.
Developing practical strategies
Practical activities, such as breathing techniques, mindfulness exercises, and written worksheets are incorporated throughout the game – equipping children and the adults in their lives with the practical strategies they need to better understand and manage their worrits.
A bank of resources to continue conversations
When you’ve finished the game, you’ll have a toolkit of resources, activities, and shared experiences through which you can shape your overall approach to wellbeing – utilising the child-friendly language from the Melva world, and referencing the characters your children have grown to love.
Game access details
Schools and Groups
The online package for schools and groups comes with unlimited users and detailed lesson guides. The school admin function allows lead staff to set limits on individual user accounts, so if you choose to make the game available to your children to play at home, you can manage and monitor their progress.
Families
The online game is also available as a family license, which comes with a simplified user guide and up to 4 user profiles to play with.
Get Melva Mapletree & the
Quest for Barnabus Boggle
Full online package for Schools
Full access to all Melva programmes and their accompanying resources.
£750
Are you eligible for a discount?
Get in touch for bespoke discounts for your setting.
Access lasts for one academic year and will be renewed automatically at the start of the following year unless cancelled.
The Melva Digital Package
Find out more about the full Melva package and its benefits
MELVA has been developed in ongoing consultation with children, teachers and families since 2017, and is available for you to use in your own setting now.
What does your school get access to?
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3 different MELVA themed creative interventions
The full MELVA package consists of three different creative interventions:
- Explore Scratchicle Town (aimed at Years 3-4)
- Melva’s Mountain Adventure (aimed at Years 4-5)
- The Quest for Barnabas Boggle (aimed at Years 5-6)
Each intervention centres around a different Melva story, and each story is told in a different way: through a series of animation; a filmed theatre show; and a choose-your-own-adventure style game.
Each intervention is designed to be delivered over the course of 8 x 1 hour lessons, but you can go at your own pace depending on the needs of the young people you are working with. They come with fully prepared lesson plans and practical wraparound activities for in-depth learning, including: creative activities, mindfulness activities, positive psychology exercises, discussion topics and prompts, and practical self-management techniques to learn individually and in groups.
Click the links above to find out more about each individual MELVA intervention.
Exciting news:
We are currently working on a 4th intervention – the Melva BOOK! This will be aimed predominantly at Year 6 children and will explore themes around transition, growing up, and grief. -
A bank of wellbeing activities & themed assemblies
As well as the structured interventions, we also provide examples of other simple activities you can use with your class or wider school anytime you like, such as simple mindfulness and breathing activities. These extra resources are designed to help make good mental wellbeing practices part of your daily school routine.
New for academic year 24/25 will also be a bank of themed assemblies, to support your whole school approach.
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The MELVA digital portal & Teacher Area
Your school will receive a unique login for the full MELVA online portal, where the 3 creative interventions are hosted.
This portal also includes a Teacher Area which holds all the necessary resources and guides you need to get started and deliver with your class, all in one easy to access place: lesson plans, evaluation guides, user guides and more.
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A simple evaluation report at the end of the year
We have built evaluation into the MELVA package, including pre- and post- intervention assessments, and session-by-session feedback.
This means that, subject to proper and full completion and submission of the evaluation data, we can provide you with a simple report at the end of the year to demonstrate impact, including:
- Improvements in knowledge, understanding and recall
- Levels of key wellbeing indicators whilst participating in the MELVA programme*
*We measure this using the PERMA™ framework – a model developed by Dr Martin Seligman and the studies in Positive Psychology to represent the presence of wellbeing
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Teacher CPD & support for school staff
With statutory services in such high demand, it is falling to schools to support children with their mental health, in place of trained mental health practitioners. We know this can come with its own anxieties and challenges, especially when considered alongside the epidemic of stress and burnout that teachers and school staff are already facing.
With this in mind, we have deliberately factored staff support into the programme. Throughout the year, school staff will be able to access:
- Introductory sessions to support the implementation of MELVA in your school.
- Digital and in person Teacher CPD Sessions on wellbeing focused topics, such as Emotional Resilience and Managing Difficult Conversations.
- Bookable 1:1 surgery slots with the MELVA team.
- Facilitated conversation with other schools using MELVA to discuss your experiences and common issues arising around mental health and wellbeing in schools.
Frequently asked
questions
How long does a license last?
School licenses last until the end of the academic year in which they were purchased and will renew automatically at the start of the following year unless cancelled, with invoices issued in July. If you purchase a license towards the end of an academic year e.g. Summer Term, we will liaise with you directly to discuss your license start date.
Family licenses do not expire, but are limited to 4 user profiles and once the game has been completed, it can’t be restarted.
Community or non-academic group licenses will be agreed on a case-by-case basis.
Do you offer any discounts?
We have various discounts available on our online Melva packages, including discounts for multi-license purchases (e.g. via a school trust or a corporate sponsorship) and discounts on license renewals.
Get in touch today to discuss bespoke discounts for group or setting.
What age range is Melva for?
Melva is designed for young people aged 7-11 (Key Stage 2 in England and Wales, or P4/P5/P6/P7 in Scotland).
Note: Some of the language used in the game may seem advanced for Lower Key Stage 2 (P4/P5). Throughout the Melva programme, we’ve tried to balance the content so that it will appeal to both the upper and lower end of this age range – inevitably this means not everything will land with every child the same way, but this will not hinder their experience.
Who do I contact if I’m having issues with my login?
If you are having trouble with your Melva online login, please contact melva@mortalfools.org.uk and we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.
Note: The online user guides also include some basic troubleshooting tips, so please make sure you’ve read this carefully before you start using the platforms.
Funded and supported by:
