World Water Day

Water Games is a joint initiative of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the Centre for Systems Solutions to celebrate the World Water Day.

We have collected and described a number of different games addressing different water challenges. These games differ with respect to time required to play, a number of participants, type (computer, board, or role-play). We hope that you find a game that you can use and organize a session for other participants that you invite.

We would be delighted to hear from you more about your experiences - please share with us descriptions and pictures from your event!

P.I.P.E.S.

Clean water. 2 hours. The Public Infrastructure Participatory Engagement Simulation recreates features of an American system with aging infrastructure.
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Nexus! Challenge

Responsible production. Board game. 2 hours. In the Nexus! Challenge you can play a country or company and face obstacles to explore the resilience of the energy-food-water nexus.
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Game of Floods

Sustainable cities and communities. Clean Water and Sanitation. Board Game. 1 hour. In the Game of Floods, players take into their hands a future of a hypothetical Marin Island.
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River Basin Game

Responsible Consumption and Production. Clean Water. 2 hours and more. In the River Basin Game, players become farmers whose main goal is to increase their income to maintain the wellbeing of their families.
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New Shores: a Game for Democracy

Climate change. Democracy. Online game. More than 2 hours. New Shores is an multiplayer game that takes players on a quest to settle on a green island.
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The World’s Future

Social simulation. 5-6 hours. 11-44 players. THE WORLD’S FUTURE game is an interactive role-playing simulation game which enables players to face the great challenges of our time.
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Nexus Game

Energy. Simulation. Water and energy. 2 hours and more. The Nexus Game gives participants a unique opportunity to get an insight into managing the water needs of energy production.
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Lords of the Valley the board game (Wladcy Doliny)

Biodiversity. Board game. 2 hours and more. Role-playing simulation board game that takes place in the valley of the river exposed to unexpected droughts and floods.
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Flood Resilience Game

Water and Sanitation. Board game. Role-playing game. 2 hours and more. Experience, explore, and learn about the flood risk and resilience of communities in river valleys.
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Sustainable Delta

Water management. Policy exercise. 2 hours and more. Develop a sustainable water management plan for a river delta.
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Darfur is Dying

Water. Refugees. Flash game. 15-30 minutes. Darfur is Dying is a narrative-based simulation game, where player takes a role of a displaced Darfurian living in a refugee camp.
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AWQA Water

Water. Water pollution. Flash game. 30-60 minutes. During the games, users will learn how lake health is closely related to the concentration of the nutrients phosphorous and nitrogen in the water.
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Water Games for World Water Day 2019

SDG 6 focuses on the task to “ensure availability of water for all”, but around 183 million of the global population lacks basic drinking water services.
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Water, Trust, and the Shadow of Flint

Ongoing, Flint Water Crisis has highlighted the importance of the relationship between communities and drinking water infrastructure managers.
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Water Games for World Water Day 2018

With water covering more than 70% of the Earth’s surface and making up nearly 60% of human body, this valuable
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Nexus! Challenge with Herman van der Meyden

We talked with Herman van der Meyden from The Perspectivity Challenge. Read the interview to check what one of the developers of the Nexus! Challenge game thinks about the potential of games to tackle urgent global challenges.
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Coasting through environmental change?

A sea level rise, increased severity of storms, and coral bleaching are only a few of the changes anticipated for islands in the Caribbean, and these have direct implications for coastal tourism.
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