• Project Overview: The research project “Serious Games as a Tool for Participatory Urban Development” aims to better understand human decision-making behavior in the context of the climate crisis through the use of game-based methods and data-driven analysis. The goal is to promote climate-conscious action in schools, universities, government agencies, and businesses, thereby supporting forward-looking approaches.

• Chair: Urban Climate Resilience, University of Augsburg   

• Concept: Markus Keck   

• Project Manager: Rouven Kaiser   

• Collaboration:  Weitblick GmbH   

• Project Duration: 36 months, 2022–2025   

• Funding: Chair’s own funds   

• Context: Use of serious games on the topics of climate change and sustainability, with a focus on the World Climate Game as a “flagship”   

• Region: Augsburg and surrounding area, Bavaria, and the DACH region   

• Target groups: Students, school classes, companies, government agencies

Serious games have experienced a veritable boom in recent years and are now used in educational institutions, private companies, and public administrations. As part of this project, we are exploring the role serious games play in participatory urban development in Germany and their potential for shaping urban climate resilience in experimental ways. To this end, we are developing a critique of serious games as a tool for steering participatory engagement formats while simultaneously exploring ways to use serious games as a speculative method in participatory research and analyzing behavioral data.

Serious games are interactive, game-based formats designed to promote knowledge, skills, and democratic and social behavior. Their educational foundation helps spark discussions and foster a shared awareness of the problems caused by human-induced climate change. According to Rouven Kaiser, who leads the research project, serious gaming can help “make the climate crisis tangible”—through narrative experiences, emotional impact, and the promotion of soft skills such as critical thinking, empathy, and social cooperation.

At the department, Rouven combines theory-driven concepts from gaming studies with social-geographical approaches—in the spirit of transformative research aimed at creating societal value. Particularly in the field of participatory urban development, serious games are intended to help address urban climate risks and make the consequences of climate change tangible. The research project targets a diverse audience, ranging from schools and universities to government agencies and businesses.

The World Climate Game is a three-day, app-based board simulation game on the topic of the climate crisis, developed by Weitblick GmbH in collaboration with experts in education, psychology, and climate science, based on the SDGs and IPCC reports. It is being used in the current research project on serious games because it is suitable for use in a variety of contexts (schools, universities, as well as government agencies and businesses) .

• Game structure: An exploration of climate change from the year 2000 to 2100 across 10 decade-long rounds, during which tipping points, extreme weather, and social crises are triggered depending on the players’ decisions.
• Target audience & applications: Youth aged 13 and older, school classes, community colleges, universities, NGOs, associations, and companies—as a workshop format for climate education and to foster various skills
• Educational impact: Conveys global interconnections and sustainable solution strategies. The experience of cooperation leads to an increased sense of responsibility and motivation to take action.
• Technical requirements: Large game board (approx. 150 × 150 cm), projector, tables, bulletin boards, internet access, space for 14–50 people for approximately 21 hours (3 days)

• “Best Paper” award at the 2025 ISAGA Conference in Stuttgart for the study on the impact of interactive climate simulations.
• Colloquium in Erlangen (January 2025): Presentation of the “How to play climate crisis” approach by Rouven Kaiser. Focus: Serious gaming as a complement to traditional teaching and planning processes, with positive feedback on its potential and challenges. 
• Interdisciplinary block seminar (October 2025): Use of the World Climate Game at the Center for Climate Resilience with 36 students from the fields of political science, economics, and geography; positive evaluation and continuation planned.
• Corporate simulation game “MainKassandra” (February 11, 2025): Experiencing climate adaptation in practice – participants develop resilience strategies in a workshop format under the guidance of Rouven Kaiser.
• Certificate course “Future Skill Engineer” (May 8, 2025): Kickoff with an interactive serious game on digital transformation, led by Rouven Kaiser at the AI Production Network Augsburg
• Public Climate School (November 2023): Event on serious games at the University of Augsburg, part of the chair’s educational work in the field of sustainability.

Media Coverage

•     Region A3 / “Climate Adaptation for Businesses” / Regio Augsburg Wirtschaft GmbH
•     Süddeutsche Zeitung / “Three Days to Save the World” / September 30, 2024 / Christoph von Eichhorn