Bullying Pursuit: Rewriting parchís into a cooperative anti‑bullying game

Ferran and David Aguilar — the younger known online as Hand Solo and born with Poland syndrome — have reimagined the traditional parchís board into a cooperative tool to prevent school bullying. Joined by game specialist Víctor Baroja and intellectual property scholar Miquel Àngel Rodríguez, the team presented Bullying Pursuit this week: a tabletop game with a companion mobile version conceived for awareness and classroom use.

The idea began when Ferran, clearing out his parents’ home after their deaths, found the parchís board from his childhood and reflected on the behaviours the classic game rewards: eliminating others and sending them back. He decided to “rewrite a millennia-old game,” turning competition into collaboration as a way to teach empathy and collective responsibility. The project also pays tribute to his late mother and draws on David’s own experience of being bullied for being different.

Bullying Pursuit preserves the visual feel of parchís but changes the dynamics. Four players cooperate against a fifth element: a “bullying monster” that is not controlled by any player and moves by chance. The creators say this avoids casting any child in the role of “the bad one” and symbolizes how circumstances can make someone a bully, a victim or a bystander. Game mechanics on the board and in the digital version combine challenges, obstacles and cooperative phases to underscore that harassment is a complex social problem requiring collective action.

The board is framed as a “journey of life,” with moments for mutual aid and opportunities for positive rivalry. The game’s narrative includes a symbolic voyage to Mars — described by the creators as a “bullying‑free” planet where difference becomes identity rather than a cause for ridicule. In one design detail, player pieces echo the colours of the prosthetic arms David has built over the years; collecting pieces during play lets teams assemble a rocket to reach Mars, reinforcing teamwork and shared goals.

The prototype drew attention at the Festival of Board Games of the Pyrenees and attracted interest from Falomir Juegos, a major European manufacturer of parchís. The board concept led to a mobile adaptation developed with Daniel Sánchez, founder of Gamera Nest and a university professor specialising in educational games; Sánchez has joined the project as a partner. The team says the mobile game is being developed for Android and iOS with the primary aim of serving as an educational resource for schools.

Víctor Baroja, president of the Federation of Traditional Games, welcomed the choice of a board game to transmit values, arguing that games themselves do not contain values but that people project theirs into play. He described Bullying Pursuit as “innovating on tradition” and said that healthy competition depends on the values players bring to the table. Miquel Àngel Rodríguez highlighted the project as an exercise in adapting cultural forms to new contexts.

Beyond product development, the Aguilars intend to turn their visibility into lasting social impact. David’s story has inspired a documentary and a book translated into several languages, with film rights sold; he has also received institutional recognition in Andorra as an example of resilience. To help finance the videogame’s development, the family has launched solidarity initiatives such as selling commemorative magnets at Pyrénées stores.

Ferran Aguilar says the project grew from a desire to extract something positive from painful personal history. He warns that, despite more protocols, education systems remain overwhelmed by the reality of bullying and its severe consequences, and he calls for immediate action. The creators hope schools will adopt Bullying Pursuit as a practical classroom resource to change attitudes and behaviours through play.