Games for Systems Thinking and Collaboration
Who We Are
We’re game designers who create interactive experiences and hands-on workshops about the complex systems we find ourselves embedded within. Our work supports our players to face the complex and chaotic nature of our present moment, finding new, dynamic and transformative strategies that recognise the reality we are in.
Our games and experiences are designed to boost collaboration and increase literacy in systems concepts such as tradeoffs, tipping points and feedback loops—dynamics that define the structure and resilience of our organisations.
We have over a decade of experience working with researchers and organisations to communicate complexity, disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, community resilience and more. Our work is presented in conferences, boardrooms, town halls, universities and theatres, in contexts ranging from strategy development to community engagement.
We are David Finnigan, Mel Frances and Nathan Harrison. We’re based between the UK and Australia, and work globally.
In the UK, we work with Mod Collective, a group of game designers, writers, performers and artists who use games and playful experiences to modify our world.
In Australia, we work with Boho Interactive, a collective of artists who create games in collaboration with researchers and communities.
David has written this overview of our practice, and the impact that games can have in conversations about science, system change, and risk.
Our previous clients include The World Bank, United Nations, Chatham House (UK), Earth Observatory Singapore, CSIRO, London Design Biennale, as well as government agencies, NGOs and financial institutions.
The Future for Beginners at Somerset House London
Image by Timothy Eliot Spurr
Best Festival Ever at Arts House Melbourne
Image by Bryony Jackson
Our Work
Our projects include:
The Future For Beginners: A game about climate adaptation and community strength, made in collaboration with Chatham House, the London Design Biennale and Coney.
Best Festival Ever: Players explore complex systems and model processes through attempting to run a successful music festival. Developed with research scientists from University College London, the Stockholm Resilience Centre and CSIRO.
A Week in the Bush: A series of games for health researchers working in Indigenous communities, made in collaboration with The Lowitja Institute.
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We work on projects that look inside industries and systems, exploring how those systems work, and how they could work better - Found in Translation, which explores intersectoral collaboration.
We work on games for communities and collectives to play themselves, exploring action at the scale of a street - Stronger Together, which looks at community resilience in the face of extreme weather.
We work on games that get into the detail of scientific systems, finding ways to make research tangible and accessible to non-experts.
Sometimes our experiences live for months or years inside museum or gallery spaces, like Get the Kids and Run, which was developed with the Earth Observatory Singapore, and has been installed at the Singapore Science Centre since 2019.
Sometimes we create projects that take players on a journey over several sessions, such as the Playful Activism Toolbox, developed by Mod with Greenpeace.
Collaborate with us
We’re always excited to meet new possible collaborators interested in exploring systems and science with us. If you want to talk more, get in touch.
“We sorely need this kind of experience because many of the show’s systems concepts are missing from our public discourse, and yet we cannot hope to navigate the challenges facing humanity without them.”
“Mod’s work is a champion of cheer and optimism through hard conversations on difficult topics…their work lifts young people up so high, that it makes them feel they can do anything.”
Systems Mapping Workshop at Proud Archivist, London
Image by David Shaw
