BIOSPHERE GUARDIANS 2050 - play and save our planet

Four international groups from the age of 16 to 52 decided to create a roleplay game to change the narrative of Climate Change. In 2023, participants from Ireland , Wales, Germany and Italy met two times, one in Trento in April and one in Kempten in October. There they discussed climate change, themselves and the creation of the game Biosphere Guardians 2050. To keep in touch during the other months, a server discord was created to have weekly meetings and some game sessions.

During the 2 youth exchanges, that involved more than 50 young people and youth leaders, the participants got to know each other, met local stakeholders and experts within the field of biodiversity, conservation and environmental protection and immersed themselves in the creation of the Biosphere Guardians 2050 game. Through hands-on workshop discussing the rules and mechanics of the game, each national group imagined their city and region in 2050 and how it would change due to current environmental predictions. Each national adventure combines realistic elements with fiction and proposes a series of challenges and missions that the players need to solve together using their abilities and most importantly, collaborating to reach the best possible outcome.

The 2 international youth exchanges further reinforced the collaboration between the twin cities of Kempten and Trento and allowed that roleplay gains recognition as a powerful educational methodology to engage people from different countries and backgrounds. Roleplaying is a way to enhance creativity and participative approaches.

Since its creation in 1974 Roleplay was a niche, but  in the last few years has become more and more popular thanks to some tv shows such as Stranger Things and The Big Bang Theory and also thanks to the social networks people started streaming their gaming session creating an ever growing community of players around the Globe.

But, what is Roleplay ?

Roleplay is a combination of tabletop games, theater and storytelling. Around a table, only with sheets of paper, a pencil and their imagination players create new worlds and stories in which they are the protagonist, it’s a gym for life. 

Roleplay  games can be set in any scenario, from high fantasy to space adventure, Biosphere Guardians is set in 2050 and tried to imagine a future world where, even if climate changes have happened and are still happening, humanity found a way to live in balance with nature also thanks to the use of technology. In this world the national States in Europe lost their influence in favor of regional beyond borders organizations, the Biospheres.

The game was created through discussions and workshops, where the participant tried and succeeded in reimagining our world with a specific aim in mind: change the narrative around climate change. The latest generation is under a lot of pressure, since children first start school they hear about it and the message that is passed is that tomorrow will be worse than today. Biosphere Guardians wants to change this vision because the future is what we shape in the present, and we need to think in a proactive and positive way if we want to live in a better world tomorrow.

The project was a success, the game will be published in June 2024 and in represents the work of more than one hundred people spread between Italy, Germany Wales and Ireland. Some of them had the occasion to meet in person and to discover that even if they came from very different geographical and social environments they had more in common than differences. The inspiration for the game content arrives from hikes in nature, meeting with already established environmentally active realities and least but not last the desire to get involved and change our narrative.

So download the online version, grab your friends, sit down and play together. 

The project is financed within the Erasmus+ Programme KA151.

Jacopo & Patricia