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Survival of the M&M's
Resilience Strategies
Mitigation Strategies
Climate Change Impacts
Game Duration
Number of Players
Facilitation Difficulty
Space Size

10+ mins.

2+ players

Small Space with Tables

4

  • Learn how to use resources in an efficient way Practice thinking and decision making under pressure 

  • Learn how to plan and prepare for expected climate change events

M&Ms

Straws

Plates

FACILITATION GUIDELINES

DEBRIEFING QUESTIONS

MATERIALS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  1. Give players 2 of each colored M&M. Each color represents a different resource:

    • --> Green M&Ms represent trees

    • --> Red M&Ms represent food

    • --> Yellow M&Ms represent money

    • --> Brown M&Ms represent land

    • --> Blue M&Ms represent water

    • --> Orange M&Ms represent shelter

  2. Present players with a different climate change event each round (i.e. rise in sea level) in which particular resources are necessary to stay alive. If a player does not have the necessary resources to survive the event, they are out of the game.

  3. Each round, have players put aside 2 M&M’s (the resources they may not need for that particular event). They will have to strategically select which M&M’s to keep and which to put aside. M&M's can be moved by sucking through a straw to pick them up from the plate.

  4. Each round M&M’s will “reproduce” by doubling (for example, if a player keeps 2 green M&M’s, the next round they will have 4 green M&M’s, if they keep 1 green M&M, the next round they will have 2 green M&M’s). Players will not be able to foresee what climate change event will happen next. As a result, they must strategically select which M&M’s to put aside and which to keep and “reproduce” to account for whatever may happen in the future.

  5. The game will have a specified number of rounds (players will be presented with a set number of climate change events).

  6. The player with the highest number of M&M’s (resources) at the end wins.

  1. What did you learn?

  2. Is it better to use up all your resources when you need them, or to save them in order to plan and prepare for potential climate change events?

N/A

ADDITIONAL

Survival of the M&M's

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