DOI
10.14434/ijdl.v11i2.25020

Summary
This paper is concerned with the design approach and functionality of a board game called ‘The Green Economy’. The game is designed to engage students with systems thinking under the context of sustainable development issues. A unique feature of the game allow students to alter the rules during gameplay which gives them the opportunity to act as both players and game designers.

The game involves participants leading a nation through scenarios of two distinct stages. 1. Gathering and managing resources and 2. Build facilities to evolve as a civilisation. The first nation to achieve a certain degree of wealth without having negative environmental points wins the game.

Junior et al state that “the interconnectivity between countries, companies, and people creates a net of relationships that emerged from the technology revolution at the end of the 20th century”. In an attempt to address these challenges creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork were hailed as the most useful competencies.

 

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
The paper is relevant to the sustainable development topic and pertains itself to being relevant to reimagining education at HEIs.

Junior et al state that “systems thinking…helps us to analyse the complex interrelationship between different domains such as society, environment, and economic agents at different levels (local to global)”. They also make reference to two authors who made the observation that intrinsically, games are models of systems making them a useful pedagogical tool in simulating real world experiences. The in game design (rule changing) further enhances the student experience in understanding interconnected decision making.

 

Point of Strength
The presentation of ‘The Green Economy” game is a strong point as a whole. The game has been specifically designed to enhance the learning experience of systems thinking in sustainable development. The paper offers valuable graphic representations of the game process and step by step rules.