Serious Games: CyberNations

CyberNations is a game for 1-5 players about leading sustainably in a complex, adaptive world. Its innovative game mechanics create an engaging ‘coopetitive’ experience. The game world also persists between play sessions, inviting players to think about the game world they ‘inherit’ and the kind of game world they are creating for future players.

Please read the background information 'About the Game'.

CyberNations is a live experiment. It seeks to generate research-led learning outside of a classroom. It is not about defeating dragons or colonising anything. The game has done its job if it provides a challenging and engaging experience and starts discussions among players about how they can act in ‘real-life’ complex situations to shape the futures they want for themselves and their communities.

Find out more about Gaming at the School of Cybernetics: https://cybernetics.anu.edu.au/projects/gameful-experiences-for-hopeful-futures/

And explore some of the resources:

• An introduction to cybernetics (Ashby, 1961, Chapman & Hall), pp202-205
• Homo Ludens (Huizinga, 1949, Routledge) p1
• Gaming: the future’s language (Duke, 1974), p170-171
• Cardboard Ghosts: using physical games to model & critique systems (Holland, 2025, Taylor & Francis), pp58-64
• Inayatullah, S. ‘Gaming, Ways of Knowing, and Futures’, Journal of Futures Studies, Dec. 2017, 22(2): 101–106
• Gaming Utopia: Ludic worlds in art, design and media (Pederson, 2021, Indiana University Press) p230

Thomas will be presenting the CyberNations game to a number of audiences:

• at PAX Melbourne Collaboratory - keep an eye on the website if you're interested in game development: https://aus.paxsite.com/en-us/features/collaboratory.html
• SxSW Sydney Games Festival - https://www.sxswsydney.com/games-showcase

Please consider the trajectory of the game of your group. Take a photo of your board at the end of the session. Consider your role in the game and reflect on some of the following prompts:

• were there times where you had a particularly strong (positive or negative) reaction? What do these reactions tell you?

• What is the key learning you are taking from this playthrough?

• Are there you will do differently from now on?

• What do you need to research, ask or talk about? With whom and when?
  

• What were the tension between the overall mission goals and your individual goals Were there trade-offs that you had to manage?
• Were you able to align your strategy with others in the game? What might you have done differently, or what might you do differently the next time that the game is played?