Moving Pieces and Allocating Budget Together: A Framework for Using Analog Serious Games in Sustainable Collaborative Planning

The process of seeking games as tools for participatory and collaborative approaches applied to planning and public engagement is thriving. Despite the growing literature, and in contrast to the increasing number of experiences, there is a lack of methods for developing game-based approaches. We propose using the MIQUAPA method to support low-tech and low-cost serious games for collaborative planning and participatory budgeting. We designed two serious games using modern board game mechanisms and tested them to address two sustainability problems related to a university campus. The games engaged the participants and delivered collaborative planning experiences. However, the experiences revealed several simulation limitations of this method. The participants’ preparedness, context, and motivation also affected the game outcome. This paper proposes a method to develop future game-based approaches, informing the advantages and limitations of such approaches and proposing data collection and facilitation solutions. It warns future practitioners about the required preparedness to use game-based approaches.