Generate: The Game of Energy Choices

US Environmental Protection Agency

A board game which engages students as they grapple with the complexities of society's challenges. It encourages students to cultivate a deep and layered understanding of these challenges and current societal options for producing energy.

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Notes from our reviewers

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Activity engages students in the complex issue of energy production and use, as well as environmental and economic costs. To fully realize the goals of the activity, it will require several rounds of the game and a foundational understanding of energy types, renewable vs non-renewable, etc. This should be a capstone activity following a unit on energy. Everything you need to play (the board game, all pieces, scoring spreadsheet, detailed instructions, expansions and ideas for customizing the game for particular groups) is downloadable from the main site. Color printing is strongly recommended. Excellent background information and additional resources are provided. This is a paper and pencil activity. For middle school students the math required may require more instructional support.
This is a board game that teaches students about various energy generation choices, and the considerations and costs involved in each. Each student or student team is given a hand of energy resource cards and asked to simulate a simple energy system for a town/city/region; they have to select which resource cards to play to give them the lowest total cost (energy produced, building cost, maintenance cost, CO2 emissions are all considerations). Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
Each team starts with a different set of resources allowing for comparison between solutions. Several alternative scenarios for the game are provided to allow for more complex solutions, competition among teams or other changing of the variables related to the goal, making multiple solutions possible. Creative thinking, compare and contrast, cause and effect, team work and math skills will be required for a positive game experience. Assessing individual knowledge gain or concept understanding will be difficult with this activity as the game is played as a team. The activity is well-designed and organized. There are separate teaching instructions for middle and high school students, and each explicitly states how it aligns to specific Next Generation Science Standards (AND North Carolina Essential Standards) for the targeted student group. The puzzle-solving nature of the game would engage students while it educates.