2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Background: Climate change and sustainability represent global grand challenges that need widespread behavioral change. Traditional classroom methods often fail to engage learners or effectively address the psychological distance between individuals and environmental issues. Interactive strategies, especially game-based learning, have the potential to increase motivation and improve comprehension of complex sustainability concepts.
Purpose: This review addresses the effectiveness of non-digital, sustainability-focused board games as educational tools for conveying climate change concepts and fostering pro-environmental attitudes.

Scope/Method: This narrative literature review identifies and analyzes board games developed for environmental education. Particularly, those that include the mention of explicit sustainability or climate change themes, along with documented use in formal or informal educational settings, were required. Twenty games, including Water Ark, Pollutaplop, Keep Cool, and CO₂: Climate Policy Mod, were evaluated for their game mechanics, learning objectives, and reported educational outcomes.

Results: Many of the reviewed games facilitated collaborative problem-solving, enhanced understanding of environmental systems, and reduced psychological distance from foreign concepts by immersing players in role-based scenarios. Games such as Be Blessed Taiwan and Water Ark produced measurable improvements in knowledge, empathy, and academic performance in pre- and post-game assessments. However, positive outcomes frequently required skilled facilitation and adequate classroom time for gameplay and reflection.

Conclusions: Board games provide an accessible and immersive medium for sustainability education, particularly in low-resource settings. When well-designed and effectively facilitated, these games can enhance environmental literacy, increase engagement, and support sustained behavioral changes relevant to climate action and other grand challenges.