Every year, Essen, in Germany, hosts world's largest public fair for board games, bringing together passionate game fans with national and international exhibitors. The fair this year included a day of talks and discussions focussing on the issue of sustainability. Contributors explored the impact of board gaming on the world, asking: How sustainable are games and how much ecological thinking goes into the themes of board games today?

As co-leads of the Horizon-UKRI funded STRATEGIES project, a Sustainable Transition for Europe’s Game Industries, Paul Wake and Chloé Germaine were invited to discuss their research in this area.

On November 12th, 2024, we came together for something special: The Sustainability NEXUS.

This event wasn’t just another gathering; it was a heartfelt call to action for the video game industry to embrace sustainability and be a force for good in the world.

On 9th November 2024, the event ‘Green Gaming Seminar for Katowice City of Science’ was held. It was co-organised by STRATEGIES, The University of Silesia in Katowice, and the Silesian Museum. Green Gaming was the culmination of the gaming week, part of Katowice 2024 European City of Science. Its aim was to educate and engage the public on the connected issues of sustainable gaming and cultural heritage. The event drew on expertise from academics, industry professionals and cultural leaders to explore how gaming media both contribute to and can mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis.

As part of the pre-events for Malta’s "Science in the City" festival, a workshop was held on September 24th, 2024, showcasing the intersection of creativity, education, and social justice through an exercise of board game hacking. Co-organized by STRATEGIES consortium partners the University of Malta and the board game publisher Mighty Boards, the workshop explored the principles of game design while addressing the festival's 2024 theme: "JEDI"—justice, equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Board Game hacking is a key pillar of Work Package 6: Hacking Games to Reimagine Consumption and builds on a research methodology developed by Chloé Germaine and Paul Wake in their project, Games Imagining the Future (funded by Game in Lab), and published in the Ecogames Volume (See: Chapter 23 - Game Hacking and Young Climate Action). In Work Package 6, Chloé and Paul are working with University of Malta researcher, Christian Paller, to further develop the method of board game hacking for use in game development education, specifically in promoting carbon literacy among Europe’s game developers. Workshops like Christian’s board game hacking session at “Science in the City” are helping us refine the method in different contexts and with varied audiences.

STRATEGIES partner, the Manchester Game Centre hosted a game night on September 19th in the Manchester Poetry Library. The game night welcomed researchers from the STRATEGIES project along with Manchester Met students and members of the public to play the new game, Catan: New Energies.

At the Dutch Game Business Event INDIGO on June 19th, 2024, visitors were encouraged to think about sustainability and games. To contribute to the STRATEGIES goal, two INDIGO Talks covered topics that touched upon the issues the STRATEGIES project will explore further in the coming years.

David Fernández Huerta (ustwo) and Jerome Ibanez (Midgard) addressed sustainability in the games industry through their presentations “Values-driven Game Design: The Making of Alba: a Wildlife Adventure.” and “Midgard: Making the Video Game Industry More Sustainable, One Game At a Time.”

Huerta’s talk highlighted how Alba was approached with a different, environmentally forward mindset in game design. Ibanez endeavors to make the industry itself more sustainable and more aware of how to green up its business further and target its carbon footprint.