Green Media Mediography – Utrecht University

Forest Shuffle

Over the course of the game, each player grows a forest by placing different tree species and arranging other plants, animals, and fungi around them. The game ends once three “winter” cards are drawn, signifying the end of the growing season. At that point, the most ecologically “successful” forest wins. At the core, Forest

Flourish

Players design and cultivate a personal garden over the course of four rounds of play, gradually building a tableau of flower beds, trees, ornamental features, and bee hives that form a flourishing ecosystem with each other, but also with their neighbours’ gardens. Each player scores points from the combinations of plants and landscape elements they

Kelp: Shark vs Octopus

Kelp is a two-player asymmetrical game that offers players a unique opportunity to delve into the natural world of Pyjama Sharks and Common Octopuses, set in a South African kelp forest. Hide and seek meets bluffing and manipulation. Deck builder meets dice bag builder. As players take on the roles of these iconic sea creatures, they

Renature

Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer. Art by Dennis Lohausen. Deep Print Games, 2020. 2-4 players | 45-60 minutes | Age 8+ Renature is a competitive board game where players plant trees in a national park to compete for points. There are various methods for collecting points: by planting trees which are an equal or larger

Wingspan

Elizabeth Hargrave. Art by Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, Natalia Rojas, Greg May, Beth Sobel. Stonemaier Games, 2019. 1-5 players | 40-70 mins | Age 10+ Wingspan is an engine builder game in which players are bird enthusiasts who compete to build the best bird sanctuary within four rounds. Each player has their own personal board

Rustling Leaves

Paolo Mori. Art by Elli Jäger. Kosmos, 2020. 2-6 Players | 20 minutes | Age 8+ Rustling Leaves is a roll-and-write game set in a forest habitat with varying rules as the seasons – spring, summer, autumn, and winter – change. Each player will get a sheet of paper upon which a grid represents the

Orchard

Anneliese Farkaschovsky. Art by Walter Matheis. HABA, 1986. 2-8 Players | 10 Minutes | Age 3-6 Anneliese Farkaschovsky’s Orchard is a collaborative game aimed at players aged between 3 and 6. As its name suggests, it is a game about fruit picking. The rule book tells us: ‘The four fruit-trees are full of fruit. The

Ecosystem

Matt Simpson. Art by Lindsay Falsone. Genius Games, 2019. 2-6 Players | 15-20 minutes | Age 10+ Ecosystem is a card-drafting game in which players must place cards in a 5 x 4 grid to cultivate their own ecosystem. The objective is to score points by positioning certain cards next to each other: bees will

Sequoia

Sequoia. Chad DeShon. Art by Anca Gavril and Daniel Profiri. BoardGameTables.com, 2020. 2-5 Players | 10 minutes | Age 6+ Sequoia is a dice game in which the objective is to vie for dominance and score points by having the tallest (or second tallest) tree in each of the game’s eleven different forests. Each player

Canopy

Tim Eisner. Art by Vincent Dutrait. Weird City Games, 2021. 1-4 players | 30 minutes | Age 8+ Canopy is a card collecting game in which players take turns selecting new cards in order to grow a rainforest. The forest consists of trees, formed by trunk and canopy cards, along with animal, plants, and environment

Hollow Knight: Silksong

After almost eight years since the original Hollow Knight, the long-awaited sequel has arrived: Hollow Knight: Silksong. Blending Action, Adventure, and Indie elements, it presents a world shaped by detailed, hand-made 2D artwork that gives the game its unmistakable look. You play as Hornet, a former boss and reluctant ally from the first Hollow Knight.

The Planet Crafter

The Planet Crafter drops you on a dead planet. No oxygen, no water, no food. Just rocks, sand, and a blinking oxygen meter. You are not fighting enemies here. The enemy is the environment. What makes it stand out is how much of the game is about building a livable world from scratch. You start

Ark: Survival Ascended

ARK: Survival Ascended is an open-world survival game developed by Studio Wildcard. It takes place on mysterious, artificially created worlds known as ARKs, massive, space-borne habitats designed to preserve life after a catastrophic event on Earth. These ARKs are home to a vast array of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, many of which have been

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is an open-world adventure game developed by Ustwo Games. The game focuses on exploring the world and conserving the wildlife. On the website, the game is framed as re-creating the sense of wonder and relaxation of a child’s summer holiday and focusing on positive feedback loops as a “feel-good game about running around and doing