Energetic: A cooperative educational game about clean energy transitions

There is broad public awareness in the U.S. about the threat of climate change, but much less understanding of the practical aspects of responding to this threat. To address this gap, City Atlas developed Energetic, a four-person cooperative educational game in which players play different roles as they work together to build 16 GW of clean electricity for New York City, replacing the current fossil fuel generation.

Players take the roles of an activist who pushes for rapid adoption of clean electricity, an engineer concerned with building clean electricity infrastructure and ensuring its stability and reliability, an entrepreneur concerned with financing the new infrastructure, and a politician concerned with maintaining public support for the project. Players gain understanding of the trade-offs involved in juggling costs, reliability, and public support. The game is suitable for a wide range of ages, from 11 to over 60, and has been used successfully in high-school, undergraduate, and postgraduate classes as well as with professionals at electrical utilities, businesses, and non-profits. Over 450 game sets are in use around the world, and several high schools and universities have made Energetic a regular part of their classes.

Each player has distinct capabilities and constraints, and the feasibility and political acceptance of different clean-energy technologies are different in different parts of New York State. These capabilities and constraints were derived from policy analysis and expert elicitation, and are grounded in the political realities of the region. The game has also been adapted to a developing-nation context in the fictional African state of Wakanda and an adaptation to Tennessee is underway.

Teachers report that the game raises students’ understanding of a transition to clean energy and the complexities of achieving such a transition. After playing the game, students from across the political spectrum in conservative Southern states feel empowered to speak with family, friends, and others in their home communities about clean energy and decarbonization. Both quantitative and qualitative survey results from students show improved self-perception of understanding clean energy transitions and being able to explain and talk persuasively about them with others.