Urban Gaming: Learning About the Energy Transition at the Local Level with Go2Zero

Abstract

In this chapter, we show how simulation gaming can be used to experiment freely in urban development and how a variety of urban stakeholders learn about these developments in a complex environment. Simulation gaming is especially useful when the issue is a problem in a complex multi-actor system, in which sociopolitical complexity and technical design complexity need to be studied in an integrated and dynamic fashion. The Go2Zero game about the energy transition process at the local level was used to illustrate learning about the energy transition process at the local level. Based on this study, we conclude that participants of Go2Zero particularly learned about the interaction between stakeholders, working together, and the dynamics of intervention of each individual stakeholder at the system level. This chapter also discusses the factors that are critical in making simulation gaming successful. These are: the validity of the game, clarity about the issue at stake, the role of the client and the facilitator, the right number of players in a session, the creation of a safe environment to experiment freely and share knowledge, and a fair gaming session.