Metamorphose©: The game

Metamorphose© is structured into three distinct phases, each designed to guide participants through the process of understanding, exploring, and addressing the challenges posed by the Horne Smelter case. Below is a summary of each phase:

 

Opening Phase

The opening phase of Metamorphose© is the first step in the game, where players are introduced to the Horne Smelter case and the broader context of industrial pollution. This 30-minute phase is about setting up the game, understanding the roles, andcollecting the necessary resources and events that will shape the players’ strategies in the later stages (See Figure 1.1).

The game begins with players rolling a dice to determine their roles. If the roll is an even number, the player takes on the role of a business actor, representing the Horne Smelter or its parent company, Glencore. If the roll is an odd number, the player becomes a government/health actor, representing regulatory bodies or public health organizations. This random assignment ensures that players experience the game from different perspectives, helping them understand the competing interests at play. Players then take turns rolling the dice to move along a game board inspired by the” traditional Snakes and Ladders game, which itself originates from the old Indian game “Gyan Chaupard or Moksha Patam (Sen, 2021) (Figure 1.2). As they progress, they collect additional cards, which fall into four categories:

Figure 1.1 The opening phase

Event cards: These represent specific incidents or developments related to the smelter’s operations, such as new pollution data,public protests, or regulatory changes. Each event card is associated with a particular level (niche, regime, or landscape) and a specificcategory of actor (social, business, government, or science).

Actor cards: These represent the stakeholders involved in the events, such as local community groups, corporate executives, government officials, or scientists. Actor cards are linked to event cards and provide context for the players’ decisions.

Resource cards: These include financial resources (e.g., funding for pollution control measures) and informational resources (e.g., scientific studies or public awareness campaigns). Resource cards are essential for implementing strategies in later phases.

Strategy cards: These represent different approaches to sustainability, ranging from weak sustainability (focused on incremental improvements and economic growth) to strong sustainability (emphasizing ecological limits and systemic change) and metamorphosis (a transformative approach that redefines humanity’s relationship with the planet).

Figure 1.2 Game table

Players must navigate the game board, collecting at least 15 event cards and 15 actor cards during the Opening Phase. The random nature of the dice rolls and card draws simulates the unpredictability of real- world challenges, requiring players to adapt their strategies based on the resources and events they acquire.

At the end of the opening phase, players engage in a face-to-face interaction where they assess their initial positions. Depending on the events, actors, and resources they have collected, players may choose to compete or cooperate with one another. For example, a business player might seek to negotiate with a government player to secure more lenient pollution standards, while a government player might push for stricter regulations to protect public health. This interaction sets the stage for the exploration phase, where players will develop and implement their sustainability strategies.

Exploration Phase

The exploration phase of Metamorphose© is where the game truly comes to life. After the initial setup in the opening phase, players now dive deeper into the Horne Smelter case, using the resources, events, and actors they’ve collected to develop andimplement their strategies. This phase is about decision-making, negotiation, and exploring different approaches to sustainability.At the start of the exploration phase, the game introduces a new set of tools to help players visualize their strategies. (Figure 2)

Events-actors board: Summarizes event and actor cards collected in the Opening Phase, showing events and involved actors at niche, regime, and landscape levels.

Cooperation-competition board: Displays actors from both players, helping them decide whether to cooperate or compete based on aligned or conflicting interests.

Strategy-resources board: Assists players in planning tasks and resources needed to achieve goals, such as reducing pollution or transforming the system.

Players must choose one of three strategies to pursue during the exploration phase. Each strategy represents a different approach to sustainability, with varying levels of ambition and complexity:

Weak Sustainability: This is the most straightforward strategy, focusing on incremental improvements and economic growth. Players negotiate agreements between “business” and “government” actors at the “regime level” to set new pollution thresholds. For example, the “Horne Smelter” might agree to reduce arsenic emissions in exchange for financial incentives or regulatory flexibility. 

Figure 2: Exploration phase setup

Strong Sustainability: This strategy goes beyond weak sustainability by involving “science” and addressing pollution at the “landscape level”. Players must engage international organizations, scientific institutions, and multinational corporations to develop more sustainable practices. For example, the smelter might adopt new technologies to reduce emissions, while governments implement stricter regulations based on scientific research. To implement this strategy, players may choose to complete activities from weak sustainability, then proceed with more ambitious initiatives. 

Metamorphosis: This is the most ambitious strategy, aiming for a complete transformation of the system. Players must involve allfour categories of actors (“social”, “business”, “government”, and “science”) across all five levels (“individual”, “niche”, “regime”, “landscape”, and “cosmos”). The goal is to redefine humanity’s relationship with the planet, moving beyond mere sustainability toa state of “flourishing”. For example, the smelter might be transformed into a model of green industry, with zero emissions and afocus on ecological restoration. To implement this transformative vision, players may choose to start with community-led initiatives like creating citizen science programs to monitor environmental health. They might develop circular economy partnerships where the smelter’s waste becomes raw material for other industries.

At the end of the “exploration phase”, players calculate their gains based on the strategy they pursued. Through a combination ofstrategic decision-making, resource allocation, and negotiation, they work to address the sustainability challenges posed by theHorne Smelter case. Whether they choose weak sustainability, strong sustainability, or metamorphosis, players must navigate a complex web of actors, levels, and interests to achieve their goals. This phase sets the stage for the final reflection.

Closing Phase.

The Closing Phase of Metamorphose© is the final stage of the game, where players reflect on their actions, evaluate their outcomes, and construct a narrative that explains their journey through the Horne Smelter case. This phase is designed to help playersconsolidate their experiences, draw lessons from the game, and consider how the strategies they pursued might apply to real-world sustainability challenges. At the start of the closing phase, players are provided with a concentric card layout that helps them organize their thoughts and experiences. This layout consists of three main sections:

Outer ring (events): This section contains the event cards collected during the game. These cards represent the key incidents and developments that shaped the players’ strategies, such as public protests, regulatory changes, or scientific breakthroughs.

Middle ring (tasks): This section includes the tasks that players assigned to achieve their chosen strategy. For example, if a playerpursued strong sustainability, this ring might include tasks like “measure pollution levels” or “engage international organizations.”

Figure 3: Closing phase setup

Inner core (actors): This section highlights the actors who played a decisive role in implementing the strategy. These could belocal community groups, corporate executives, government officials, or scientists, depending on the players’ choices.

The concentric layout serves as a visual aid, helping players see the connections between events, tasks, and actors. It also provides a framework for constructing their narrative. The narrative-building process encourages players to think critically about theirexperiences and draw connections between the game and real-world sustainability challenges. 

In summary, the closing phase of Metamorphose© is a time for reflection, storytelling, and learning. Through narrative-building, reflective questioning, and group debriefing, players consolidate their experiences and draw lessons from the game. They consider how their values and beliefs influenced their decisions, celebrate their achievements, and explore how the game’s lessons might apply to real-world sustainability challenges. The Closing Phase provides a meaningful conclusion to the game, helping players transition from the game world to the real world with a deeper understanding of the complexities of sustainability.