“ENERGETIC is a crucial part of the climate action ecosystem in and beyond New York City.” Anthony Townsend, Cornell Tech

“I love this game and want to help make it successful and widely used.” Jonathan Gilligan, Vanderbilt University,  bio

“The fact is that we don’t live in a spreadsheet, we live in geographic space and historical time. And if we’re going to decarbonize the economy, if we’re going to become resilient to climate damages, that’s going to involve going through year after year after year, very specific, concrete, investments, actions, activities, in very particular geographies…so we absolutely need a way for people to live through the timeline of changing the economy, changing infrastructure in very specific places, even if it’s in the game form in order to really understand what that’s going to be like. There is just nothing that exists in the scenario world, in a policy simulator world, that compares to the experience of going through year by year by year, specific political pathway in a specific place. 

There’s nothing else out there that does anything like that. This is a game that we need and I think it would be of great benefit to people to think about climate change, if we got all of our students, teachers, citizens to have that chance. It’s going to be huge.” Daniel Aldana Cohen, UC Berkeley, Co-author: A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal

“My students have demonstrated a deep understanding of the issues and how to solve the environmental problems while playing a game. They’re having fun, but at the same time, I hear them having conversations where they’re debating whether they should invest more in wind turbines or whether they should do further research to advance nuclear power, and how to keep in mind that they need to keep public opinion high, and how to include the public in town meetings to get them educated on the issues. And it’s really phenomenal to hear them talking this way.” Aida Rosenbaum, Bronx Latin School

“ENERGETIC is brilliant and instructive because it effectively communicates the way in which the task of decarbonizing the grid comprises a set of interlocking technological, economic, social, and political challenges. It characterizes each of these connected challenges accurately, deeply, and with nuance.” Jeffrey Seidman, Vassar College

“The best way to explain this game is to play the game. I usually describe it to other teachers as an incredible and fun way to get students thinking and making choices that affect the future of their home.” Rachel Wax, Eleanor Roosevelt High School

“Simulating the role of different stakeholders helped the students better understand the real-world constraints…I’m excited to hear that you are considering developing new games and would be happy to collaborate.” Paulina Jaramillo, Carnegie Mellon University, Coordinating Lead Author IPCC AR6 WG 3, bio

“ENERGETIC provides a valuable perspective on the many challenges involved in transitioning to renewable energy in New York, from the needs of diverse stakeholders to the impact of politics and the need for community engagement. The game requires cooperation, and in exploring this daunting task, models a process of achieving real change through collaboration and strategic thinking.” Sandra Goldmark, Barnard College • Columbia University

“ENERGETIC has been highly influential in my class. It kept students engaged…The hands-on approach allowed them to explore real-world applications of energy concepts, making the learning experience practical and relevant.” Elisa Margarita, Brooklyn Tech 

“We’re excited to use ENERGETIC in our W!se Institute programs in New York City public high schools, where we teach a curriculum about sustainability and help students explore how to leverage potential career opportunities available through new sustainable business strategies. Energetic brings science, politics, financing, infrastructure building and much more to life. It’s a great educational tool.” Kristy Nguyen, W!se Institute NYC

“The experience that I had talking to other people about choices to make, and working in a team with other roles, made me think more about the material at hand than what I would have thought about if I was just taking notes and listening to somebody speak.” Colin Lam, Student, Bronx High School of Science

“The game night was a huge success! The kids loved the game and even stayed late to talk more.” Drew Pendergrass, Harvard University

“We face an urgent demand in explaining climate change and resiliency to the public. ENERGETIC gives us a powerful tool to make the situation and the solutions clear in a single two-hour event. We look forward to using ENERGETIC to teach our community about energy, climate change, and the importance of resiliency.” Tim Sevcik Gilman, RETI Center, Resilience and Sustainability Nonprofit; Red Hook, Brooklyn

“I teach and research energy and climate issues at Lancaster University. I love ENERGETIC. I tested it out with my teenage kids, who said ‘it works well and it really teaches you things about energy without being annoying and educational’. From my point of view, I really like the fact that it reflects all of the challenges in moving to sustainable energy – including the political and public opinion challenges. It really gives you a feel for what it might be like to be a legislator bringing a Green New Deal into being. It was both exhilarating and frustrating to play, much like real life. I will definitely be setting it as coursework for my students.” Rebecca Willis, Expert Lead on the UK Climate Assembly

” As a human-centered designer, I’ve often encountered narratives of helplessness among people, with many looking to external forces for solutions. But ENERGETIC showed us that collaboration and a collaborative toolkit are essential for driving change from the grassroots level…the game challenges players to think critically, strategize effectively, and work together towards a common goal. And in doing so, it instills a sense of agency and responsibility in addressing complex issues like climate change.” Navya Garady, MIT Hacks Medicine

“I see ENERGETIC as an ideal tool for helping not only students, but also policymakers and other interested stakeholders get a better sense of what a real energy transition might look like in a city.” Cary Krosinsky, Brown University

“I tested it out with my family…I enjoyed the experience so much, and my family had a good time, but what I was most impressed about was that all the research that I done, everything I knew about the energy system on my own, what I had synthesized together over a year and a half, maybe two years of reading all these articles — my family had a pretty solid intuition for those issues in just a matter of an hour and a half. That, to me, is the pinnacle of education, of learning about something in a fun way and a high quality way also.” Matthew Sarker, Bronx High School of Science

“This game is literally the perfect culmination of what I’ve been teaching, to have them actually experience just how challenging decarbonization is, but also that it’s actually feasible to decarbonize. It’s awesome.” Jennifer Bradham, Wofford College

Context for Energetic:

A Twitter thread from David Wallace-Wells

“The coronavirus has produced an unprecedented drop in carbon emissions. But to avoid catastrophic warming of two degrees Celsius, we need to cut emissions 50% faster still, every single year this decade.”

“Social tipping dynamics for stabilizing Earth’s climate by 2050” Otto, et al. PNAS February 2020

“[Social tipping interventions] in the education system.

Many examples of research confirm the role of education in social transformations (114) and tackling climate change concerns (115, 116)…While many teachers include some, often thin, coverage of climate change (117), comprehensive approaches at all levels of public education are still rare. Lack of knowledge about the causes, impacts, and solutions to climate change was the most easily identifiable individual barrier to engagement in climate action…(118)”

Energetic Press:

NY1: Board game teaching students to decarbonize New York City, 5/18/23

New York Times: Roll the Dice, Save Gotham From Climate Catastrophe, 4/21/23

CUNY TV: A Board Game about the Future of NYC, June 2024

METROPOLIS: Finding Beauty in Climate Futures, Spring 2024

Yale Climate Communications: Players of this board game explore how to power New York City on clean energy, 10/26/23

Grist: 5 board games for a world that’s falling apart, 6/16/20

Nature: Fell, M.J., Schneiders, A. Make fun of your research, 5/6/20 

Grist: Johnson, N. Save New York with this board game, 3/17/20