Overgrowth

We believe that the green design of cities will decide if we survive the climate crisis. According to the OECD, cities are responsible for over 70% of energy-related CO2 emissions and produce nearly 50% of global waste. And, with the global population rapidly moving towards urban living, the importance of minimizing cities’ impact on the environment is only growing.

We made Overgrowth, a 3-player cooperative board game, to teach players about the challenges that urban planners face when designing sustainable cities. In the game, players take on the role of urban planners tasked by the state governor to help create a sustainable pioneer city with negative carbon emissions. Players reimagine a future where humans can live in harmony with nature, and they must balance the growth of their city with protecting the existing forest environment.

Overgrowth is a boldly optimistic game that gives players the agency to tackle one of the greatest challenges to solving the climate crisis. We hope players walk away with practical knowledge of the ways urban design can impact the environment, as well as hope that if we all work together, we can achieve a sustainable future.

Created by Shana E. Hadi, Annie Nguyen, Kyle Nguyen, Ji Hong Ni in Spring 2023, with more design rationale here!