Climate Jenga
Transform our energy system to avert collapse!
Climate Jenga takes the classic party game to new heights, using it as a powerful metaphor for the climate crisis. Players will face the challenge of balancing energy choices, showing how reliance on fossil fuels can lead to collapse, while renewable energy brings stability. Can you keep the tower standing?
About Climate Jenga
-
Objective: Keep the tower standing as long as possible by making strategic choices between fossil fuels and renewable energy.
-
Gameplay: Like traditional Jenga, players take turns removing blocks from a tower. Each time fossil fuels are used, a block is removed, making the tower unstable. When renewable energy is used, the block is reinserted elsewhere, helping stabilize the tower.
-
Message: The tower symbolizes our planet, and each block represents the stability of Earth’s systems. Using renewable energy helps avoid collapse by keeping things in balance.
How to play:
-
Pull out blocks (fossil fuels): Each time a player uses fossil fuels, they remove a block, weakening the tower.
-
Reinsert blocks (renewable energy): Choosing renewable energy allows players to reinsert blocks, restoring some stability.
-
Avoid collapse: The goal is to solve the climate challenge by transitioning away from fossil fuels before the tower comes crashing down!
Why play?
This game teaches the importance of transitioning to renewable energy to prevent environmental collapse, while highlighting the dangers of continued fossil fuel use.
-
Learn: Experience how fossil fuel use destabilizes our world and how renewable energy can prevent disaster.
-
Act: Gain insight into the importance of transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.
-
Inspire: Understand the balance humanity must maintain to avert the worst effects of climate change.
This activity is part of the Game Changers project by creator Al Grumet.
To learn more, watch this video of Climate Jenga in action at EcoEvolution in May 2024.
Quick facts:
-
Game time: 10-20 minutes.
-
Players: 2-6 people.
-
Ages: 5+
