What can board games teach students about climate change?
What can board games teach students about climate change?
What can board games teach students about climate change?
By Debra J. Rosenthal
September 20, 2023
Summary
Among the world's ever-expanding array of board games, a small but growing number deal with climate change.
My thought was that if people learn best while they are active and joyful participants, then turning a serious topic like climate change into a board game might have value beyond the game.
Since climate change affects the whole world, climate change board games emphasize teamwork and group success.
Together, we evaluated the games for their ease to learn, their value for teaching about climate catastrophe, their ability to spark conversation and their suitability for high school and university students.
What follows is an account of the five climate change board games that we all tried.
Although we deeply appreciated how the game strives to sensitize players to Inuit life on the tundra so that they can see what is threatened by climate catastrophe, it does not teach about the drivers of climate change and thus was not suitable for our specific classroom needs.
At our next climate change board game evening, my group of educators and activists plans to play Tipping Point, Daybreak, Carboniq and Climate Call.
Reference
Rosenthal, D.J. (2023, September 20) What can board games teach students about climate change?. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-can-board-games-teach-students-about-climate-change-21360