The Goal: To develop a narrative tool that inspires joyful learning, deepened consciousness, and real-world action in our transformation towards regenerative food systems.
International & urban-regional synchronous development as an Open Educational Resource (OER) and analog/digital Open-Source Game for the Creative Commons
Growing the Coop to cook the Game…
Biond.de serves organic, tasty, and healthy meals in schools, clinics, and homes across Germany.
Focalizer in Nigeria:
Ibrahim Gadzama, Jos, J-Town, North-Central Nigeria
Gamedesigner:
André Boeing from ktopia.eu,
also does webdesign and cloud
infrastructure
Ibrahim and André are both members of CoFSA, the
Conscious Food Systems Alliance
convened by UNDP.
Design Manifesto
This open, creative commons, educational game development journey is growing organically – guided by agile principles and rooted in early, analog prototypes. We begin with hands-on models that we can touch, test and explore in real-world living labs—together with diverse resonance groups in their fields, including young people. The feedback nurtures and shapes each iteration as we adapt responsively and intentionally.
What you’ll find here are early-stage drafts, shared openly as part of our live documentation. Things might feel a bit “nerdy,” complex, and complicated at first—but that’s part of the process. As the project plant continues to grow, it will distill down to its essence: clear, purposeful, accessible, playable, enjoyable – and helpful!
As we are developing a Game, we are free to be gameful and playful in our agile development sprints, too. Play is a life-long skill tree to be nurtured.
Build-up of a card
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.
Quadrants
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.
Tenets
skill points for ‘Knowledge/Learning,’ ‘Action/Doing,’ and ‘Awareness/Consciousness/Wisdom’ are shown.
SDG’s
Additionally, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) addressed by the Quest are indicated.
Quest
narrative title of the Quest and the specific description of the task.
QR Code zur Karten Web Page
The QR code leads to the respective card’s webpage with further information, guides, videos, recipes, etc., related to the Quest.”
To see the card page with Quest resources, the QR code links to, !click here!
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, tenets & skills in your Adventure Character Journal (ACJ!) and tick off experience points in the SDG progress bars.
The three symbols here stand for Knowledge (Brain), Conscious Compassion / Wisdom (horizontal 8 and heart) and Ecosocial Action (Hands) that arises from the first 2 Tenets.
They also refer to the 3 Tenets of the Zen Peace Makers: Not-Knowing, Bearing Witness and Taking Action!.
The Adventure Character Journal (ACJ!)
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
A cooperative board game with epic challenges in the global/planetary transformation – towards regenerative food systems.
In the Simulacrum, your decks and characters face cooperative challenges. These are epic, collaborative endeavors that would take weeks, months, years, or even decades in the real world. Within the Simulacrum, you can accelerate time and test possible solutions. A typical round lasts 10-20 minutes.
Your epic Challenge begins after drawing a random 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 😉
The Simulacrum Scenario
coop Challenge
In the Simulacrum, your decks and characters face cooperative challenges in the transformation towards regenerative food systems. These are epic, collaborative endeavors that would take weeks, months, years, or even decades in the real world. Within the Simulacrum – short: the SIM, you can accelerate time, change conditions and test possible solutions.
Typical playtime: 10-20 minutes.
Players need their ACJ! Adventure Character Journals. The individual progress in Character skills and experience play into the scenario. A minimum of collective Experience Points through the symbols is required as a prerequisite to begin The epic SIM Coop Challenge
To make the scenario even more engaging, the group could place objects on a tabletop and move figures representing their actions.
As the group gets together again, Dais plays out her “Flatbread Baking” card from her deck and places the dough into a sand hole, covering it with sand and then burning a dry bush fire on top. This heats the sand and it becomes an oven for the covered dough. She has to turn it around some time to repeat the heating and a bread will be baked.
Lucy plays out her “Water Purification” Card and places a pot of dirt water from the source above the fire for boiling. They both save fire wood as they bake and boil water at the same time. The bread below the fire, the water above.
Tim found a big glass, some dry sprouting seeds, a small canister of purified water. From that he built a sprout growing place in the shadow. If all goes well, this ensures edible Greens in 5-6 days.
Tim’s father found a sun reflection material and played out his card “Solar oven”. He found some almost rotten fruits and vegetables, cut away the bad parts and now grills the rest with the heat in the solar oven.
….
This is a draft idea to build upon for the boardgame, coop scenario challenge. It is inspired by Pen&Paper Game Mechanics offering players immersion, choice, drawing from their character and skill builds and adding random outcomes with the dice.