Simulating complex policy interventions in a ,simple' boardgame

Abstract

After a long history of using non-digital games for policy making, in 2000 the use of digital games became almost standard as they could provide more realistic feedback and fit with the new demand from clients. However, after a decade of experiences, we observe that digital games have their disadvantages in terms of development and added value of using realistic simulations. In this article, we show that using a simple board game can be valuable also for testing new policies and has the advantage of a short development time. The example of the game Meter for Meter shows how a board game about the introduction of removing certificates supports the development of this new policy. Based on the outcomes of the game, it was decided to delay the pilots in the cities to think about certain issues emerged in the game sessions. This case shows that it is not necessary to have a digital game to assess policy implementations and that you need to discuss before the game design, if a digital game is really necessary.