With the proliferation of websites, weeding through the valuable and worthless can be all-consuming. Several sites contain worthwhile simulations and games that get people thinking about resource management. Today’s post details a few of those that do a particularly good job.
Chevron, the oil and gas megalith, teamed up with The Economic Group to develop Energyville. The goal of Energyville is to power a large city (with a population of nearly 6 million). Players must consider the economic, environmental, and security impacts associated with their choices. Provided with both renewable and non-renewable energy sources, players must successfully power the city from present day to the year 2030. The game takes into consideration conservation measures, possible terror attacks, and numerous scenarios to realistically depict the future. In addition, new energy sources (oil shale and hydrogen) become available later in the game.
On a different tact, food and survival are the focus of both 3rd World Farmer and “The Fish Game”, the latter of which is from The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education based in New York. These games require players to farm or fish for their survival. In the case of 3rd World Farmer, which has been on the Internet for several years, players must survive off of a small plot of land, with minimal food production and a sizable family. Many of the issues that plague African nations – civil unrest, drought, and lack of infrastructure – are programmed into the playing experience. Meanwhile, The Fish Game portends lessons about the commons and how to manage collective resources.
Although it is not an interactive, online game, Play Rethink, from Rethink Games in London, England has a unique board game they recently developed. Recently featured on Springwise, Play Rethink aims “to help people think—or rethink—how to make everyday objects and services more socially and environmentally friendly. Each game includes a multicoloured wheel and 98 drawing cards along with an eco-strategies key card and an instruction sheet with activities.”
If you have any other sites or games that we ought to know about, please leave a comment.
- Eric Wilson
[image source: Play Rethink]
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