"One more minute, please!"
Students who participated in the launch of "Settlers of a Green Future" never had enough time to enjoy the last bit of the game. They cooperated to build eco-cooperatives; received eco-points for building sustainably; and they got frustrated when "fossil" thwarted their attempts to build towards a green future. Everyone was a winner.
Can games help us understand the complexity of environmental negotiations? We - José Medinamora (MEM '13), Soojin Kim (MEM '12), and myself - have adapted the popular game, The Settlers of Catan, to explore this very question. Our game - Settlers of a Green Future - introduces the trade-offs between individual goals and the greater good. Using real-world sustainable development policy and action proposals that are being discussed here at the Rio+20 Earth Summit, this game helps participants understand the diversity and range of options available that can help nations achieve a green future.
