Trail of Change by Shift Happens
Join the next Trail

A coaching board game for carrier turning points

Your next honest career move

Decided in one afternoon, around a table.

5 questions every career turning point comes down to:

  • Where do I stand?
  • How did I get here?
  • Where am I going?
  • Why am I going there?
  • How will I find my way?

Trail of Change helps you answer all 5 of them in a single afternoon and leave with clarity, confidence and concrete next steps.
One game, five answers.

Join the next Trail See how it works

Basel, 3-4 players · 3–3.5 hrs · 95 CHF per person
or one-to-one session 1.5-2 hrs · 295 CHF · Next group sessions: 15.10 · 22.10 · 29.10

Players around the Trail of Change board: the printed alpine map, wooden markers, dice, card decks and a notebook.
“A rare combination of fun, depth and unexpected turns.” – as one of the players put it
40+ professionals have already walked the Trail
4 industries so far – pharma, FMCG, IT, education
40–60 the age range of players so far

Who is Trail of Change for?

For you, if you’ve built a solid professional life over 15+ years and at least one of these is true:

Tick what sounds like you

Two players at a Trail of Change session, cards in hand, the board between them.
One session, one afternoon. Swiss Alps.

You don’t need to be in crisis to come. Several of the best sessions have been with people who simply wanted to think clearly while things were still calm.

What you walk away with

Not a vague good feeling. 3 results you’ll feel, and 2 things you can hold in your hands.

  1. 1

    Clarity, Confidence, Concrete next steps

    You find your own answers to the five questions, make your decisions and plan your first steps.

  2. 2

    Your Backpack, written down

    A complete inventory of your resources, strengths and support; your limitations, seen at their real size; your fears and their antidotes; and the decisions you made.

  3. 3

    Your Promise to yourself

    A promise for the next 14 days, written down and said out loud to the people at the table. That already makes it your first step.

The Promise to yourself

Today I realised that

and I promise myself I will

by date

Testimonials

They came with a question. They left with a decision.

I was restructured at 60, and my question was - should I retire early or look for another job in my area. The game helped me realise that there is a third option too - go to explore how can I create value for others in what matters deeply to me - art, history, traditions, knowledge transfer. I left with a boost of energy and 3 ideas of my self-employment to test against reality.
Helen Safety, Pharma · one-to-one session
I came to the game out of curiosity. I was working at a leadership level in a big company, comfortably settled in my role. But I felt I had outgrown it and needed a change. The game showed me that I didn’t have to move far to find it: there was still room to grow where I was. I left the table with a clear decision: take on a high-visibility project and aim for a promotion.
Julia HRD International, FMCG · group session
I was at a crossroads: a bigger role in a smaller company, or launching my own financial consulting practice. The game cut through the noise. It showed me my real talents and where my energy actually wanted to go. I realized I wanted to grow as a team lead in a smaller company, not build something from scratch alone. It saved me months of going back and forth.
Kateryna Finance, Pharma · one-to-one session
I was weighing my options in the face of an upcoming restructuring. What started as a simple board game became a surprising journey of reflection, confidence-building and evaluating future opportunities. I left with a clear set of transferable skills in my 'backpack', which I can use to measure opportunities against, and with the confidence to seize them.
Vangelis Commercial Excellence, Pharma · one-to-one session
I had quit my job and was seriously considering freelancing. The game showed me that I still wanted the same work, within a company, just in a better environment. I felt relieved and confident in my decision. I left with a clear plan: focus on my new job search, with a list of strengths I had rediscovered at the table.
Cathy Regulatory Affairs, Pharma · group session
Restructuring comes in waves in my industry. I'm 50, and I'm the breadwinner in my family. I came to the game to face my fear and prepare for change that might come. It gave me exactly that. Revisiting my strengths gave me confidence in my professionalism and my experience. I left feeling more ready for whatever comes next, with a plan to strengthen my current position.
Tanya Finance, Pharma · group session
A group of players around the Trail of Change board at the end of a session in Basel.
The first ever game played - October 2025. Two simultaneous tables!

The trail

A coaching board game for career turning points

It’s a real board game: a board, dice, three illustrated card decks, a “My Backpack” sheet, and a facilitator who is also a certified coach (ACC ICF).

But it's more than a game. You symbolically hike a mountain trail that mirrors your career path. At each of the 10 game locations, you make a move in the game, and then you pause to reflect, answer coaching questions, and write down what you discover in your "Backpack".

The trail follows the Hero's Journey - the story pattern behind every real change. It's playful, often surprising, and deeply personal.

Five questions, five answers

Where do I stand?

You pack your backpack: the strengths you carry, the limits that hold you back, and the weights you’d love to put down.

An honest picture of today.

How did I get here?

You walk back through the turning points of your career: the hopes you started with, the wins, the hard moments. At last, you see the pattern you couldn’t see from inside.

Your story starts to make sense.

Where am I going?

At a fork in the trail, the dice suggest a direction, and you notice how you react. Relief? Resistance? Your reaction is a clue, but the choice is yours. Staying in the known is just as valid as stepping into the new. Further along the trail, you choose again: one of six roads ahead, the one that feels truly yours.

A direction you can name.

Why am I going there?

You weigh what keeps you where you are, what pushes you away or what pulls you forward, until you find the reasons that are truly yours.

A “why” strong enough to carry you.

How will I find my way?

You face your fears, then build a bridge from your greatest strengths and the support around you. Before you leave the table, you make a promise to yourself with the concrete actions for the next 14 days.

A first step, and the courage to take it.

Swipe to read

  • Come as you are
  • Share what you choose
  • Find your own answers

Nothing to prepare or read beforehand. Everything you need is on the table.

No presentations, no spotlight. You speak when it's your turn, and share only as much as you want.

Nobody tells you what to do. The others simply listen, and often become your mirrors: some of the best insights arrive while you're listening to someone else.

Three players at the table during a Trail of Change session, cards and notes in front of them.

Ready to walk it?

Basel · 3–3.5 hours · 3–4 players · 150 CHF 95 CHF (Q4 special price) per person
Next group sessions 15.10 · 22.10 · 29.10

Join the next Trail
Nataliya Romanenko, facilitator of Trail of Change.

Nataliya Romanenko

MD · ex-Marketing Leader in pharma · ACC ICF Coach · Neurointegration Coach · Basel

  1. Medicine where it started
  2. Pharma marketing first change of career
  3. Restructured twice
  4. Coach and Creator of coaching games 8 months after the jump

Your Game Master

I've reinvented my career twice. Once from medicine into pharma marketing, at the beginning of my career. Once – much later, and much more frightening – from a global corporate role into working for myself.

The second one is why this game exists.

I didn’t design this trail. I walked it. Then I drew the map for others.

My story
1

In 2023, after 20 years of a successful career in pharma, my department was restructured. My role disappeared. It felt like a disaster. With a great deal of effort, I found a new role inside the same company.

I want to be honest about that choice, because it matters. I chose security: a stable income, and the stable employment I needed for the Swiss citizenship process, which can take up to two years.

2

It was a reasonable decision. I expected the new role to last two or three years, enough to get my passport, build a financial cushion and prepare for a change.

It lasted one year. Then the second wave hit my new department. And my role. Again.
Two weeks before I could even submit my citizenship application.

3

I felt like Sisyphus – the figure from Greek mythology condemned to push a boulder up a mountain, watch it roll back down, and start again.

And I wasn’t the only one. The whole Swiss market was suddenly full of us – experienced specialists, all restructured at once, all looking for a new mountain to climb. Except the mountains were disappearing too.

4

That was the moment I had to answer a question I’d been avoiding for years: do I want to pursue another similar job, one that might vanish again in a year or two? Or do I finally choose my own path, where nobody else decides who I should be and what I should do?

5

This time, I really wanted to leave. But my list of reasons NOT to go independent was long: no solid business idea, no guarantee of success, no predictable income, no clarity on whether my citizenship application would survive without permanent employment.

What if I fail? What happens then? I was terrified.

6

What gave me the courage was a push and a pull. The push: no company would keep me until retirement anyway, so better to move now, by my own choice, than later, with less energy and fewer options. The pull: I wanted to bring all my talents and values into the world, and to build things that truly matter to other people.

So I jumped. At 50.

7

Eight months later, I had landed.
Not by luck, but step by step: I tested several business ideas, chose the one that felt truly mine, retrained and passed my exams. And my citizenship application went through too.

I became a certified coach (ACC ICF) and a creator of coaching games, helping other people through the kind of turning point I once stood at myself.

8

When I was thinking about my next move, what I needed most was one thing: a way to lay out my whole career in front of me and see it all at once, like a trail seen from a summit.
Where do I stand? How did I get here? Where am I going? Why am I going there? How will I find my way?
I wanted something both deep and enjoyable. I couldn't find it. So I built it.

Here is how it happened - swipe to read

At the table, I will be your mountain guide. I won’t walk the path for you, and I won’t tell you which way to go. I will ask the questions, hold the light when the fog comes in, and believe in you until you believe it yourself.

40+ professionals have walked the Trail of Change since I built it. Most people left the game with clarity on their direction, confidence in their decisions, and concrete next steps.

If you need exactly that – welcome to the trail! I am offering you what I most needed myself when I was at a crossroads.

Offer for a face-to-face game in Basel

Select one of the 4 options

Group

3–4 players · 3–3.5 hours

150 CHF 95 CHF

per person · until 31 December 2026, then 150 CHF

You find your own answers, and also exchange thoughts with others – that’s often where more insights arrive. Best if you’d rather not be the only one in the spotlight.

Open sessions run with a minimum of 3 players. If a session doesn’t fill, you can move to the next date or have your payment refunded – your choice.

Individual

one-to-one · 1.5–2 hours

350 CHF 295 CHF

until 31 December 2026, then 350 CHF

The whole session is yours. No waiting for turns, and we can stop and go deeper wherever it matters – so it’s shorter and covers more of your own ground.

Best if your situation is very specific, if you’d rather not do this alongside other people, or if the open dates don’t work for you.

Private group of people you choose yourself

2-4 people, 3-4 hours

600 CHF

Best if you want to be among people you trust and want to share a good time with

Corporate and team sessions with customisation

4-8 people, 4 hours

from 900 CHF

Best for team workshops or teambuilding

  • Other cities and online sessions – on request.
Where
In person, in a meeting room in Basel city centre. The exact venue is confirmed when you book. Other cities, online sessions, and games for companies or private groups – we discuss the location with you upon request.
Language
Sessions run in English.
Who else will be at the table (if you book a seat in a group session)
People at a similar stage of their careers, from different companies. Most sessions mix industries and functions. Everything said at the table stays there. For more details see How confidentiality works →
What to bring
Yourself, something to write with, and 2–4 hours you won’t be interrupted in.
What happens afterwards
You take home your "My Backpack" sheet and your "Promise". If you'd like, we book your free 30-minute follow-up call for about two weeks later, just when your 14-day promise is due, to see how your first steps went.
How to book
Send a request with the form below. I put the groups together myself, so that nobody sits down with a colleague, and agree a date that works for everyone. Then you get the venue, the confirmation and an invoice. Nothing is charged until the date is agreed.
If you’d like to book an individual format, write to me and we’ll find a time.

Booking

Join the next Trail

Sessions are put together by hand, not by a calendar. Tell me what works for you and I will build a group around it.

  1. 1 You send a short request – just enough for me to put you in the right group.
  2. 2 I put together a group of people at a similar stage and agree a date that suits everyone.
  3. 3 You get the venue, the confirmation and an invoice.

Basel · 3–3.5 hours · 3–4 players · 150 CHF 95 CHF (Q4 special price) per person

Open sessions run with a minimum of 3 players. If a session doesn’t fill, you move to the next date or get your payment back – your choice.

Your request

I answer personally, usually the same day. Nothing is charged until we have agreed a date.

By sending this form you agree that I use your details to contact you, as described in the Privacy Policy.

Only I read your details. They’re never shared or sold.

Why do I ask where you work

So that nobody ends up at a table with a colleague or their own manager. Basel is a small world, and that is exactly the fear that keeps people from coming.

Questions & answers

Questions people ask before they book

Still not sure it’s for you?

Write to me and tell me where you are – I will tell you honestly whether this is the right thing for you right now.

Write to me
A game? For a decision this serious?
Yes, precisely because it's serious. When we play, we relax. And when we relax, we notice things our busy, rational mind usually ignores. Underneath the trail, the dice and the cards is a structured coaching process designed by an certified coach. Read testimonials from earlier participants to see the game outcome for them.
Can't I just figure this out on my own?
You can, and you've probably already tried, only to end up where you started: the same story about your situation, the same pros and cons, the same well-meant advice, the same inner voice saying "play it safe." What's missing isn't information. It's uninterrupted time, structure, the right questions and tools to see your path from new angles. That's what the game gives you.
I'm not in crisis. Is this for me?
Yes. Some of the best sessions have been with people who simply wanted to think clearly while things were still calm. It's much easier to choose your next step before the storm than in the middle of it.
What if the dice tell me to quit my job?
They won't. The dice prompt your thinking, add chance and a fresh angle. Often, they show you what you secretly hoped for or feared. Every decision you make in the game is conscious and yours. And staying in your job is just as valid as leaving.
Basel is a small world. What about confidentiality?

Everything said at the table stays at the table. It's the first rule of the game, and every player agrees to it before we start. As your guide, I'm an ICF-credentialed coach, bound by the ICF Code of Ethics, which includes strict confidentiality.

You also stay in control: you decide how much to share, you can keep the rest on paper, or you can play the whole game as one of 8 fictional characters.

And you can choose who sits at the table with you:

  • Prefer not to meet anyone from your company or field? Tell me when you book, and I'll arrange the group accordingly.
  • Want to play with people you trust? Bring a friend or colleague to an open session or book a private group with up to 4 people you choose.
  • Want complete privacy? Choose a one-to-one session. Then it's just you and me. The whole session is yours, and we can go deeper wherever it matters.
Can one afternoon really change anything?
One afternoon won't change your life. But it can end months of going in circles. You leave with a decision, a written plan for the next 14 days, a strategy for whatever might stop you, and, if you want it, a free follow-up call with me.
Is this therapy?
No. It’s a coaching tool for self-reflection and decision-making, not therapy or crisis support. If you’re going through something acute, please reach out to your doctor or a mental health professional. In Switzerland, there is also a free of charge help line, available on www.143.ch around the clock, or by phone 0800 143 000 from 6 to 11 pm.
Will you try to sell me coaching?
Honest answer: at the end, I offer everyone a free 30-minute follow-up call. Take it or leave it. The game is complete in itself: you leave with your "Backpack", your direction and your "Promise".
I’m in my late fifties. Isn’t it too late for a change?
No. Players so far have been between 40 and 60, and some of the most powerful sessions were with people close to retirement. As one player put it: "I was restructured at 60… The game helped me realise that there is a third option too." With 20 or 30 years of experience, you have more to build on, not less.
What if the game isn't useful for me?
Then you don't pay. If you leave without at least one real insight about your career, tell me within 3 days of the session, and I'll refund you in full.