In an era marked by rapid change and uncertainty, civil society organisations must proactively anticipate and prepare for diverse potential futures. Foresight practices help map these possibilities, allowing us to explore trends, opportunities, and risks. But how can we make this process not only effective but also engaging and accessible? The answer lies in gamification.
What is Foresight Gamification?
Gamification involves the integration of game elements and principles in non-game contexts. Within foresight, this means incorporating play into the typically strategic and analytical process of envisioning the future. This is achieved through structured, interactive games that encourage creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration.
Foresight gamification transforms abstract concepts of the future into comprehensible ideas, making them easier to grasp and explore. Through game mechanics such as role-playing, storytelling, and competition, participants can immerse themselves in complex future environments, learning through play how these futures could unfold.
How Foresight Gamification Works in Practice
At our recent Scanning the Horizon community session, facilitated by Shiela R Castillo, a foresight practitioner with a passion for the transformative power of cultural creatives and civil society, participants engaged with two notable foresight games:
- The Polak Game: This collaborative exercise invites participants to explore their beliefs about the future. Players position themselves on the game board based on whether they foresee a better or worse future than the present. They also reflect on their capacity to influence the future. This reflection prompts discussions about how personal assumptions about the future shape our current actions.
- The Thing from the Future: In this imaginative game, participants envision future artefacts based on specific prompts. For instance, players might describe an object from a century in the future that embodies “resentment” linked to “cloning.” This creative process encourages thinking beyond conventional boundaries, helping participants “create out-of-the-box ideas that might help them generate innovative solutions to potential future challenges.
The Benefits of Foresight Gamification
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Enhanced engagement and participation
While some individuals may feel hesitant to participate in serious games within a professional context, gamification invites active involvement. With an open mindset, participants often find themselves “in the flow,” gaining valuable insights from the experience. The dynamic and interactive nature of these games fosters an inclusive environment where individuals are more likely to engage deeply and collaboratively.
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Safe space for exploration
Gamification creates a safe, judgement-free space where participants feel comfortable sharing ideas, even if they seem absurd or laughable. This freedom encourages risk-taking and innovation, which are essential for imagining unconventional futures. In a foresight game, there are no wrong answers – just different perspectives to explore.
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Making futures thinking accessible and inclusive
By integrating gamified approaches, foresight practices become more accessible to diverse groups. Whether conducted online or in person, games like the Polak Game and The Thing from the Future, demonstrate that complex foresight concepts can be communicated in a simple and engaging way. Playing foresight games not only makes the experience of learning about futures more enjoyable but also helps participants think strategically about long-term challenges. For example, the Polak Game helps players position themselves on different future scenarios, while The Thing from the Future allows groups to brainstorm inventive possibilities based on prompts, such as “50 years from now” or “a century into the future”. Such games stimulate creativity and forward-thinking. Additionally, foresight games can be played by whole teams, with partners and diverse communities (such as children) that civil society organisations engage with.
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Customisable and adaptable
Foresight games are far from trivial and can yield profound insights when applied to civil society work. By linking game learnings to their day-to-day and longer-term responsibilities, players can glean valuable insights that could support their work in addressing the world’s wicked problems. Importantly, foresight games are not one-size-fits-all; they can be tailored to meet the specific needs of an organisation, or the issues being explored. As Shiela R Castillo notes, there are “no hard and fast rules” in gamification. Game elements can be adjusted or modified to align better with participants’ objectives, making these tools both versatile and impactful in addressing real-world challenges.
The Value of Foresight Gamification
Foresight gamification is emerging as a valuable resource for fostering a culture of foresight, particularly within international civil society organisations where long-term, creative thinking is essential. As more organisations embrace these playful methodologies, they are likely to discover that foresight games not only enhance their capacity for future-oriented thinking but also enrich the journey, making it more engaging, participatory, and enjoyable.
In the words of Shiela R Castillo: “We should definitely play more. If play is work for children, social development professionals can make playing serious games part of work too”. Foresight, after all, is about imagining the unimaginable, and what better way to do that than through the lens of a game?
With this spirit, we would like to invite you to start using foresight games within your organisations and work.
If you would like to learn more on how you can use foresight in your work, immerse yourself with the tools of foresight integrated into the Justice Based Approach in United Edge’s Strategic Foreisght Workshop for Social Justice Leaders, facilitated by Shiela R Castillo and Daniel Bevan in November.