Thousands of migrants die each year in the Mediterranean Sea, attempting to reach Europe in precarious and overcrowded boats. Facing a lack of coordination between institutions and governments, the NGO SMH (Humanitarian Maritime Rescue) works to raise awareness, ensure human rights are respected, and, above all, save lives.
Inspired by the classic game BATTLESHIP, we decide to literally change the rules and create Salvar la Flota (Save the Fleet), a board game where players rescue migrants instead of sinking ships.
The game, entirely designed by the Hogarth team and made in 3D with biodegradable materials, includes two boards, one for each player, and 16 shipwreck pieces grouped in clusters of two, three, four, or five, connected by a rope. These clusters represent groups of migrants. Each time a migrant (represented by a single shipwreck piece) is rescued, they receive an orange life preserver token. Once an entire cluster is rescued, it is placed aboard a replica of the rescue ship, which is designed with space to hold all the shipwreck pieces.
The goal is to bring all the survivors aboard the AITA MARI, SMH’s rescue ship. This provided a different way to raise awareness about the migrant crisis and fund each new mission, as donations to SMH were the way to get the game.
Promoted with the slogan “You play, you save, they win”, Salvar la Flota provided a powerful example of how reality and fiction can work together for a good cause.
The campaign “Save the Fleet” resonate strongly with major Spanish media and it was featured on primetime news programs on the main TV channels.
SALVAR LA FLOTA managed to raise more than €47,000, which covered the costs to launch mission number 12 of its ship AITA MARI.
And most importantly, in the first rescue of this twelfth mission, 43 people were saved.