Designing Policy is a board & card game to help players understand and navigate a project, its design, and relevant policies.  The game was developed in 2017 by the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship.

Benefits & Problems Addressed

Structured brainstorming & problem solving: The game leads players through a process of identifying community improvements, setting goals, identifying stakeholders, common barriers, and getting to solutions.

Idea generation: The game can be used to generate ideas on new ways to approach policy development.

Tips & Techniques

Game Components:  The free pdf includes a game board, instructions and five card decks. The game includes example situations and card pairing that links a challenge to a solution in designing policy. The card decks include (1) Start cards, (2) Goal cards, (3) Challenge cards for areas of safety, cost and support, (4) Response cards and (5) Wild cards.

Playing the Game: Players begin by filling out their own Start and Goal cards.  Start cards list the specific policy or project sought (e.g. safer intersections).  Next, players list stakeholders on the board, to include both supporters and opponents. This list can grow or shrink over the course of the game as new ideas form.  Next, players list design interventions that can move from the Start card to the Goal card.  Once filled out, the players move to the card playing portion of the game. Using one player as a conversation reorder, other players draw a Challenge Card and reads it aloud.  The group then discusses how the safety, cost or support challenge impacts the stated action listed on the Start card. Players then draw Response cards and form Challenge-Response pairs, listing which pairs best fit the situation. 

Example: The image below, included in the pdf, shows how a community went through a process to get painted crosswalks in Portland Oregon.

Hot Buttons:  You may think of additional Challenge and Response cards that better fit your situation. 

Image: Enterprise Foundation

Resource

Designing Policy: The Game - Enterprise Foundation