Fun and Climate Change - do they go together?

The board game about climate change was developed by two scientists at the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research, and is helping to initialise a dialogue between science and society at large. In «Keep Cool - Gambling with the Climate» the players take on the role of powerful protagonists and make their own decisions about climate policy. They take part in international climate negotiations and learn about important interrelations of climate change.
In a game of «Keep Cool«, three to six players aged twelve and above represent groups of countries such as Europe, OPEC, or the developing countries. For one to two hours they can choose between «black» and «green» growth, but also adapt to inevitable climate impacts like droughts or floods. The strength of these increases when world temperature rises. Additionally, lobby groups like the oil industry or environmental groups have to be taken into account. The winner is the player who most efficiently reconciles climate protection with lobby interests. If some players are too ruthless, everybody loses.
With simple rules the game illustrates different facets of climate change which may seem a bit remote from everyday life, for example global warming, renewable energies or climate conferences. Players can learn more about climate change and the background of the game by consulting the scientific booklet. Thus, «Keep Cool» is suitable for use in communicating scientific ideas and in raising environmental awareness. The game is a part of teaching material about climate change which is being developed by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) in collaboration with the Zeitbild Verlag, in connection with the PISA 2006 student assessment.
«Keep Cool» contains the expertise of economists and climate and political scientists, because collaboration between different disciplines is fundamental for research about global environmental change. But for all that, the players should also have fun playing «Keep Cool» even if they are not climate experts.
Ordering:
«Keep Cool» can be ordered from the publisher, Spieltrieb, for 22.95 Euros from 1st November. It contains one large game board, one «world thermometer«, nearly fifty cards, more than one hundred wooden tokens in different colours and more. http://www.spieltriebgbr.de,
Developers of the game and Contacts:
Dr. Gerhard Petschel-Held, Tel. +49/331-288-2513, E-Mail gerhard.petschel@pik-potsdam.de
Klaus Eisenack, Tel. +49/331/288-2625, E-Mail klaus.eisenack@pik-potsdam.de
Source: News of the PIK, Potstam Institute for Climate Impact Research