Young adults increasingly struggle to form meaningful in-person connections as traditional social spaces decline and online interactions often remain superficial. Libraries, as free and accessible public environments, are well-positioned to support social interaction among this group. Contextual research, including: observations, generative sessions with young adults, expert interviews, and literature review, revealed that visitors aged 16–28 primarily come to libraries to study, but are open to socializing during breaks. However, existing activities often do not align with their needs, highlighting an opportunity for low-threshold, spontaneous, and non-disruptive social experiences.

This project aimed to design a playful intervention that enables young library visitors to meet and connect with peers in an engaging way. The design was guided by three core criteria: inclusivity, ensuring accessibility for different personality types and both individuals and groups; an entertaining and social dimension, combining enjoyable gameplay with meaningful interaction; and motivation to join, creating a visually appealing and inviting experience.

The design process began with the exploration of eight concepts based on different forms of playful interaction. Through iterative evaluation and prototyping, these ideas were narrowed down and refined into a final concept: BubbleBound.

BubbleBound is a life-sized social board game installed in the library. Players move across stepping tiles and interact with hanging “bubbles” that contain five types of challenges: create, move, chaos, dilemma, and unite. By completing these challenges, participants collect “connection hearts,” which encourage playful engagement and spark conversations. The game is designed to support both solo participants and groups of friends and is structured around twelve rotating monthly themes to keep the experience fresh.

User testing showed that BubbleBound successfully engages participants, sparks laughter, and facilitates initial social connection, creating a fun and accessible way for young adults to interact during study breaks.