We have designed a serious game to influence cognitive, normative & relational sanitation learning. The game is called RECLAIM. It aims to communicate knowledge on sanitation impacts and possibilities for resource recovery. The game was co-designed as part of the SPANS project in collaboration with stakeholders in Uganda and Sweden. Just before the pandemic we managed to run a few test sessions with the game as a proof-of-concept. We were able to show that the game could achieve its aims. Highlights from the evaluation found that:
- Serious gaming in planning can influence worldviews and stakeholder norms.
- Players gained an appreciation of the need for collaboration.
- Games in planning processes would strengthen potential for changing practices.
While we can conclude that the game meets the requirements for creating a safe environment for social learning there is still the issue of implementing the game and bringing diverse players to the table. Two key aspects include deciding when to use the game in the planning process and who should play (Kain et al., 2021). The planning process should be carefully designed to support empowerment and inclusiveness, by adapting sessions for specific types of players at appropriate times and including relevant content. Based on this reasoning, we suggest a game toolbox, including modules and add-ons that would allow for flexibility in game length and content.
We are currently working to design just such a toolbox and a training session to teach people how to use it. Stay tuned for more information.