Innovative Carbon Budget Game Aims to Tackle Climate Change Through Fun Learning

Tackling Climate Change Through Gaming

In the face of the escalating climate crisis, the urgency to act has never been clearer. The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report unmistakably underscores that human activities are the principal cause of global warming, making it a pressing international concern. Despite recognizing the importance of climate change mitigation, many individuals and organizations feel uncertain about what specific actions they should undertake. To address this gap, the innovative Carbon Budget Game has been developed, allowing players to learn optimal actionable steps based on scientific data in an engaging and cooperative format.

The Concept Behind the Game

The Carbon Budget Game entrusts players with the role of regional leaders who must collaborate to implement decarbonization initiatives aimed at mitigating global warming. Unlike competitive games, this one emphasizes the essence of teamwork and collaborative efforts. Suitable for ages 10 and up, it can be enjoyed by a wide range of participants, making the gameplay approximately 25 minutes.

The game encompasses four significant steps designed to offer players a comprehensive understanding of their actions' impacts on climate change.

Key Learning Outcomes

The game unfolds around three central educational themes:

1. Experiencing the Concept of Carbon Budget

Participants engage in a three-round format where the carbon budget accumulates over time. This gameplay mechanic allows players to grasp intuitively that there is a limit to emissions, and the rising cumulative amounts correlate with increased risks of temperature rise.

2. Understanding High-Impact Actions through Science

The actions represented in the game are based on the Carbon Footprint Reduction Data Book from the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), which provides authentic CO₂ reduction figures for various decarbonized lifestyle options across 52 Japanese cities. Players can recognize that the strongest cards in the game are aligned with real-world high-impact actions, thus naturally absorbing critical scientific knowledge as they play.

3. Learning Regional Differences in Reduction Effects

Interestingly, the effectiveness of the same actions varies by region. For instance, in areas where public transportation is prevalent, promoting electric vehicles may show limited benefits, while residential energy-saving measures might yield greater reductions in regions heavily reliant on heating and cooling.

Developer’s Statement

With over 30 gamification tools developed and implemented across more than 100 schools and organizations, this project brings together our expertise and experience. We believe it embodies the high-quality standards we aim for, promoting a balance between learning and play.

We consider one of the vital qualities of effective educational materials is achieving an exquisite balance between fun and meaningful learning experiences within a short timeframe. This game has been meticulously designed to foster positive societal impacts, enabling both children and adults to learn together and have fun.

Crowdfunding Details

To gather necessary funds for the game’s realization, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched on READYFOR. Here are the key details:

- Campaign Period: September 9, 2025 - October 31, 2025
- Funding Goal: 3 million yen (All-or-Nothing method). Upon achieving this, the next goal will be set at 5 million yen to support material development and facilitator training nationwide.

Main Rewards

- Game product version
- Invitation to experience workshops conducted by the development team
- Corporate sponsorship options
- On-site training for businesses

For further details, visit the project page: Carbon Budget Game Project

Future Plans

Upon successful crowdfunding, we aim to collaborate with the National Center for Global Warming Prevention Activities under the Ministry of the Environment to distribute the game freely to regional centers nationwide and conduct facilitator training courses. Additionally, the game data will be made available for free download, allowing anyone to print the game and play it at their convenience.