Engaging Citizens in discussion on Democratic Innovation

The Democracy Labs Game

About the Democracy Labs Game

The Democracy Labs Game is a collaborative, card-based tabletop serious game that grew out of the INCITE-DEM Democracy Labs.

The game provides a structured yet flexible environment in which participants encounter democratic tensions, engage in collaborative exploration, and co-create democratic innovations that could strengthen democratic participation in the near future.

In each play session, two to five players work with a shared democracy-related challenge, adopt different roles and act from those role-based perspectives, discuss which democratic values are particularly important for the problem, and collectively shape possible democratic solutions rather than competing against each other.

Print the materials (colour or black-and-white), cut the cards, and gather a small group of 2-5 players. Choose a democratic challenge that feels relevant to your context, follow the instructions, and let the conversation unfold.

Game overview

Co-Creation process

1. Democracy Labs

Democracy Labs workshops in six countries brought together citizens, activists, public servants and other stakeholders to share lived experiences of democracy and co-imagine future possibilities, using the Democracy Labs Toolkit. Data from the workshop, which presented citizens’ imaginaries of future democracy, were analysed and synthesised into common themes, tensions and values that captured hopes and frustrations about democracy.

2. Creating and testing stories

Using the citizens’ input from the Democracy Labs, the team created six short near-future design fiction stories, which were tested across six countries in an online survey.

Learn more about the stories

3. Prototyping and testing the game

Insights from the workshops, stories, and surveys were translated into the game elements. The prototype game was playtested, and feedback on rules, language and flow was used to refine the instructions, card set and overall structure of the game.

Design fiction stories

The short design fiction stories are inspired by discussions in the Democracy Labs. They translate participants’ concerns and ideas into situations where people interact with new forms of democratic participation and civic technology. The collection includes six stories: Civic Module, Municipal Digiboard, GovGuide, GreenTechBus, Civic Wallet and Democracy Welcome Kit.

Stories can be read on their own or used as prompts for group discussion, workshops and teaching, and as optional inspiration – not scripts to follow, but open starting points that readers and players can use to spark their own democratic futures.

Democracy Labs Game includes:

Role Cards

Role Cards – invite players to speak from different positions (for example, Resident, Government Representative or Innovator), supporting perspective-taking.

Problem Cards

Problem Cards – present democracy-related challenges based on the Democracy Labs workshops and public trials of design-fiction stories.

Scale Cards

Scale Cards – indicate whether the problem should be tackled at the local, regional or national level.

Values Cards

Values Cards – show values that can guide possible solutions.

Implementation Cards

Implementation Cards – contain ideas and fragments of possible solutions based on co-created ideas from the Labs and participants’ feedback on the fictional stories. They help players reflect on and further develop these solutions.

Action Cards

Action Cards – encourage players to adapt, combine, extend and create new ideas, helping them move from reflection to action.

Glimpse-to-the-Future (Action cards)

Glimpse-to-the-Future mini-deck – small visual and textual cards that offer open glimpses of possible futures and can be used as optional inspiration during ideation; part of action cards.

Ideation Cards

Ideation Cards – blank cards for players to sketch their own ideas.

Game boards

Game boards that make the game flow easier to follow include:

• Card Deck Board helps organise cards decks on the table, keeping the process clear;

• Future-Making Board includes zones where players can put certain cards they discuss, and make notes if needed;

• Innovation–Feasibility matrix that guides the final evaluation and decision.

Instructions Sheet

Instructions Sheet a step-by-step guide that explains the goal, flow and rules of the game

News pieces and flyers

Optional news pieces and flyers, fictional media fragments that deepen immersion in the world of problems.

Game unpacking

How to play the game

Target audience

The game is accessible and easy to use and does not require specialised training. It serves as both a conversation starter and an ideation tool. The game may be particularly useful for:

• Educators and students in schools, universities and non-formal education who want to explore democracy, participation and futures thinking.

• Community organisers who wish to open conversations about local issues, participation barriers and possible solutions.

• Researchers and designers interested in generative methods, civic imagination and co-creation around democratic futures.

• Libraries, youth centres and civic spaces that are looking for inclusive activities that bring diverse groups together around democracy-related topics.

• Municipal staff, policymakers and public institutions that want to listen to residents, test ideas in a speculative form and better understand expectations and concerns.

Try to play: Downloads

The Democracy Labs Game is available as a set of ready-to-print files. You can download the cards, game boards and instruction sheet from this website and print them using any standard printer or printing service.

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Complete package

Download the complete game set, supporting materials and stories as a single archive.

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Game Set

Download the complete game package: cards, boards, instruction.

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Stories

Download 6 Design Fiction Stories.

INCITE-DEM is Funded by the European Union (GA 101094258). Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor REA can be held responsible for them.