Democracy Game Box

Become competent in democracy! In the Competence card game, you playfully discover the competences that citizens need in a democratic and culturally diverse society: the competences for democratic culture.

Learning targets in a nutshell:

• exploring the meaning of the 20 competences for democratic culture;

• developing the ability to analyse different situations by using the competences for democratic culture and understanding how they are mobilised in various clusters to enable an effective and appropriate response to these situations.

Number of players: 4-7

Difficulty: easy/intermediate. No special preliminary knowledge is required, participants need to be able to analyse a situation by using a set of competences, while all necessary information is provided on the cards and through a QR code. Timing: 10 minutes for introduction and explanation of the rules, 30-60 minutes for gameplay.

Timing: 10 minutes for introduction and explanation of the rules, 30-60 minutes for gameplay.

Deckmocracy is an analogue card game about events in democracies. What democratic principles, institutions and rights, what threats to democracy and which parts of society make an event? Discover it by playing.

Learning target in a nutshell:

• Deckmocracy makes players reflect and think critically about how democracy has developed to reach the situations we are familiar with today.

Number of players: 2, 3, 4 or 6

Difficulty: Game mechanics are easy to understand and familiar to many. Previous knowledge about the events is not necessary.

Timing: 5 minutes for introduction and explanation of the rules, 20 minutes for gameplay.

Demodice is a cube-based storytelling game. The symbols on the dice trigger and guide the imagination of the players to create stories around democracy.

Learning targets in a nutshell

• Get into conversations and controversial discussions about democracy

• Reflect and share different meanings and interpretations of democracy, its core functions, and challenges

• Exchange personal experiences with democracy, and connect abstract concepts with personal experiences, views, perspectives, and meanings.

Number of players: 1-10

Difficulty: Demodice has simple and easy to understand game mechanics. The game works best in a group where players feel safe to share their personal stories, experiences and views.

Timing: 10 minutes for introduction and explanation of the rules, 20-60 minutes for gameplay.

Fake Expert is a communicative game of social deduction. Players take the role of talkshow guest making short statements about democatic issues and trying to expose one fake expert player.

Learning targets in a nutshell:

• Improve players analytical and critical thinking skills

• Train listening and observation skills in debates on complex topics

• Train players linguistic, communicative and plurilingual skills

Number of players: 5-9

Difficulty: This game requires language skills, so the level of difficulty may vary in different contexts. For example, playing Fake Expert in intercultural contexts can increase the complexity. A basic understanding of political and social contexts is also beneficial.

Timing: 10 minutes for introduction and explanation of the rules, 20-60 minutes for gameplay.

Draw-the-line is literally a game about drawing lines. It’s a game about us being competitive or cooperative, a game that allows to reflect upon categorizations and divisions, cleavages in our society.

Learning targets in a nutshell:

• Analytical thinking, co-operation and communication skills

• Flexibility, Adaptability, Observing

• Reflect upon and strengthen democratic values of equality, fairness, and justice

• The decision-making in this game can be democratic or not, and enables to reflect upon collaborative, cooperative and competitive elements of political discourses and policies.

Number of players: 3, 4, 6

Difficulty: Intermediate difficulty, players use basic logical thinking and their linguistic and communication skills; groups of players with similar skill levels make the experience more satisfying and interesting.

Timing: 5 minutes for introduction and explanation of the rules, 15-20 minutes for gameplay.

Become a democratic detective! Get to know surprising and relevant stories from democracies while uncovering the riddles.

Learning targets in a nutshell:

• Increase the factual knowledge as well as the comprehension and critical understanding of democratic norms, values and institutions

• Connect individual examples of democratic practice to abstract concepts of democracy

• Analytical thinking, flexibility, observing

• Reflect upon and strengthen democratic values of equality, fairness, and justice

Number of players: 4-12

Difficulty: This game requires language skills and a basic understanding of political and societal issues.

Timing: 5 minutes for introduction and explanation of the rules, 15 minutes for one card (one riddle), max 25 minutes for discussion on the riddle's topic.

Digital version: Observers exists also as a web-based game that can be played on your phone, tablet, or computer. Access here.

In Participedia, players take on the role of a representative of a civil society organisation which designs, implements or supports public participation through innovative participative events.

Learning targets in a nutshell:

• Increase players knowledge and critical understanding of different, less known, types of democratic participation

• Train players empathy as well as linguistic, communicative and plurilingual skills through role playing

• Exposes players to cultural otherness through real world examples of civic engagement from Europe and the Global South

Number of players: 3-6

Difficulty: medium

Timing: 15 minutes for introduction and explanation of the rules, 45-60 minutes for gameplay.

Utopia is a board game in which the players form an interim government in a transition to democracy. They collectively win the game if they successfully establish the conditions for the first parliamentary elections.

Learning targets in a nutshell:

• Experience conflicts of interests and the responsibility as governors

• Experience taking decisions in situations with incomplete information

• Learn about the basic formal rules for parliamentary elections

Number of players: 4

Difficulty: Utopia is a game which requires patience, time, reading and communication skills and the readiness to dive deep into a small and fictional society with all its complexity and controversies. For non-frequent gamers, it is recommended to play the game with the support of a game master/ facilitator.

Timing: 5-6 hours