Fedora’s ideas continue inspiring researchers and its results have been a fruitful foundation for further research. One of the best examples of that is the original board-game called FyouTURES, whose materials have been recently made available on Zenodo.
The game has been implemented for the first time as part of an extracurricular course for upper secondary school students called "Towards New Future Scenarios: The Role of Physics in Dealing with the Challenges of Climate Change". The course was held at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna between October and November 2023, within the Piano Lauree Scientifiche program (https://www.pls.unibo.it/).
A group of students during a game implementation.
The theoretical approach behind the course was developed as part of the PhD theses of Lorenzo Miani, Francesco De Zuani Cassina and Emma D’Orto. Its aim is to show how the epistemological aspects of physics can be useful in developing the sustainability skills needed to face the challenges of climate change. In particular, the course revolves around the themes of uncertainty, complexity, decision-making, and the ability to reason about possible and desirable futures.
FyouTURES is a collaborative game where participants simulate a governmental council tasked with achieving climate goals by the year 2100. The players, working in teams, must make decisions on a wide range of factors, such as energy sources, deforestation, and taxation, all while considering various uncertainties introduced by wildcard scenarios. The game unfolds over three rounds—2030, 2050, and 2100—each corresponding to critical decision points in a future scenario. The core mechanics is based on using the simulation platform EN-ROADS: a global climate simulator that allows users to explore the impact that different policies have on several factors like energy prices, temperature, air quality, and sea level rise. Players must balance budget limitations and make strategic decisions to mitigate the impacts of climate change while pursuing sustainability goals. This setting allows participants to explore the complexities of systemic change and long-term planning in the face of uncertainties.
FyouTURES Game board
Since its inception, FyouTURES has proven to be a powerful tool for stimulating critical thinking about climate change and sustainability. The game encourages players to reflect on the relationships between environmental, economic, and societal factors, promoting systemic and critical reasoning. By engaging with different kinds of uncertainties—epistemic, aleatoric, and reflexive—players are better equipped to grasp the challenges posed by the climate crisis and develop informed perspectives on possible solutions.
The game has been played by students but also educators, who praised its potential as a teaching tool. Its ability to make abstract scientific concepts concrete, while simultaneously encouraging collaborative problem-solving, has been particularly well received. The game has also garnered attention in academic settings, where it has been presented at several research conferences. Currently, two new implementations have been already planned and discussions are underway to explore collaborations with other institutions, with the goal of expanding and refining the game for broader use.
All the game materials, including instructions, game boards, and wildcards, have been made available on Zenodo under Creative Commons license. You can explore and download them here.
