FSYS lifeTCG

Live development started May 8th 2025 – live updates click here

A Collectible Trading Card Game for Education in Regenerative Food Systems

International & urban-regional synchronous development as an Open Educational Resource (OER) and Creative Commons educational product

Basic Principles

The collected cards are played live and in real-time in real life. Each card contains a concrete ‘Quest,’ a mission and task from the diverse thematic areas of our ‘Food Systems.’ When a Quest has been successfully completed, experience and skill points are recorded in the printed Adventure Character Journal (ACJ!), and the relevant SDGs are ticked off. The player’s own character and their ‘portfolio’ of concrete actions for the transformation of our food systems thus grows over the weeks, whenever fsys is played – at school, with friends, or with family.

In the cooperative board game modus with playing times of 10-20 minutes, the players can face epic challenges in the ‘Simulacrum’ with their character and the values they have built up. These simulations of real, major challenges in our planetary food systems require a variety of skills to be solved. This is where the built-up ‘card decks’ and character experiences come into play.

Example:

Each day when you receive your school meal, you get a random fsys booster pack with 2 cards.

“Oh no!, I already have those cards!”
No problem – trade with your friends
It is, after all, a Trade Card Game 😉
Build your personal Power Deck with every meal!

Build-up of a card

Text Description (click here)

The cards are designed in the standard format of Trade Card Games like Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, Ninjago, etc. The commonly found card sleeves and collector binders can be reused for this game.

One side of a card displays one of the 4 simplified food system quadrants (Cultivating, Processing, Cooking & Eating, Waste) and how many Q points are awarded for completing the Quest. The higher the Q points, the more complex and time-consuming the Quests are.

Next to this, the skill points for ‘Knowledge/Learning,’ ‘Action/Doing,’ and ‘Awareness/Consciousness/Wisdom’ are shown.

Additionally, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) addressed by the Quest are indicated.

This is followed by the narrative title of the Quest and the specific description of the task.

The QR code leads to the respective card’s webpage with further information, guides, videos, recipes, etc., related to the Quest.”

Or click the beige + squares on the card for an explanation.

Quadrant

Einer oder mehrere der 4 vereinfachten food system Quadranten an. (Kultivieren, Verarbeiten, Kochen & Essen, Abfall) und wie viele Q Punkte es für den Abschluss der Quest gibt. Je höher die Q Punkte, desto komplexer und zeitintensiver sind die Quests.

Skills

Fähigkeitspunkte für “Wissen/Lernen”, “Hand/Handeln” und “Bewusstein/Consciousness/Weisheit” angezeigt.

SDG’s

die durch die Quest bedienten Sustainable Development Goals SDG’s.

Quest

der Narrative Titel der Quest und die konkrete Beschreibung der Aufgabe.

QR Code zur Karten Web Page

Der QR Code führt zur jeweiligen Karten Web Page mit weiterführenden Infos, Guides, Videos, Rezepte, etc. zur Quest

Game Elements

Playing Quest Cards

A “Quest” is an action, a mission, a concrete deed in our analog, real world. Played live in “Life” (lifeTCG).

Building Skill & SDG Points

Every time you successfully complete a Quest, you can record points for quadrants & skills in your Adventure Character Journal (ACJ!) and tick off experience points in the SDG progress bars.

The Adventure Character Journal (ACJ!)

inspired by Pen & Paper role-playing game character sheets

Your game character is built in real-time over the weeks, starting from the beginning of the game. You record your progress in experience and growing skills in your Adventure Character Journal – a high-quality print journal that fits in your pocket.

The Simulacrum Gameboard – short: THE SIM

Match Length: 10-20 Minutes

A cooperative board game with epic challenges in the global/planetary transformation – towards regenerative food systems.

In the Simulacrum, your decks and characters are challenged in cooperative challenges. Epic, collaborative challenges that would take weeks, months, years, or even decades in the real world. In the Simulacrum, you can accelerate time and test solutions. A typical round lasts 10-20 minutes.

Your Sim Challenge begins after drawing a random epic challenge card, which is then placed face-up in the center of the game board. The scenario, the challenge, requires your respective, accumulated team skills and SDG experience to be solved. And of course, a bit of luck with the dice 😉