Can Games Save the Planet? Matteo Menapace, Steven Forrest, Pen Holland, Prasad Sandbhor and Lynda Dunlop (chair)
Event details
Could board games help save the planet? Can they be both fun and have a serious purpose and impact in the real world?
From flooding to climate action, join us to find out how innovative games are addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. Hear from the experts behind the designs and then experience the games first hand as you discover the power of play.
Our event is presented by the University of York’s Environmental Sustainability at York (ESAY) Facilitator Team - a team of staff and students from a range of backgrounds.
About the speakers
Matteo Menapace designs cooperative games and facilitates playful workshops for people to explore real-world challenges. He lectures in game design and was game designer in residence at the V&A Museum in London. Matteo co-designed Daybreak, a cooperative game about stopping climate breakdown, which won the Spiel des Jahres award for best connoisseur game in 2024. He was banned by the award jury for wearing a Palestine solidarity symbol during the ceremony. Learn more at ma.tteo.me
Dr Steven Forrest is a lecturer in Flood Resilience and Sustainable Transformations (research and teaching) at the Energy and Environment Institute at the University of Hull. His research focuses on governing flood resilience and sustainable transformations, justice and equality in flooding, climate adaptation, the roles and responsibilities of citizens and civil society, and international comparative research. Working on bridging the theory-practice gap in flood resilience as well as exploring the use of 'serious gaming' in flood risk management.
Professor Pen Holland of the University of York’s Department of Biology is an ecologist who uses game-based learning to help people understand complex systems. She started out as a mathematician at York, moved sideways into a PhD in ecological modelling and then spent six years in New Zealand as a research scientist working in pest and conservation management. Pen designs games with a purpose: multiplayer games to understand perceptions of, and educate about, sustainable and economic use of shared resources, and as a communication conduit between multiple stakeholders in wicked ecological problems, and to motivate, support and improve learning in higher education.
Prasad Sandbhor of the University of York’s Department of Computer Science is a serious game designer and researcher. He is the co-founder of 'Play in Nature' and is currently completing a PhD in Intelligent Games and Games Intelligence (iGGi), where he has developed the 'Thinking Through' framework for climate-action role-playing games. With a background in user experience design, he also teaches game design and enjoys writing in Marathi.
Dr Lynda Dunlop is Director of Education for Environmental Sustainability and co-convenor of Play for the Planet, a network of games designers, researchers and players interested in the role of games in tackling ecological crises. She researches climate change education and communication, and was lead researcher for Game Changers, an online narrative game produced by Megaverse and funded by UKRI.
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