FUTURE NOW: A Game About Shaping the Future

FUTURE NOW is a strategy game about what an economy is actually for. You play economic actors who negotiate trade deals, invest and pass policies. After every move a dashboard shows how the Common Good Product changes across five dimensions: economic, social, individual, institutional and ecological. Every group starts with 50 points and a budget of 100. Each round you choose from cards: small steps that pay off fast but come too late, or bold leaps that only pay off in the long run and need allies to pull off. Play only for your own advantage and you win briefly while everyone loses together.

What happens when we stop talking about changing the world and start experimenting with how to do it?

The economy is not a machine operating somewhere far away. Society is not a fixed set of rules. Both are shaped by decisions, institutions, resources, relationships and the people who participate in them.

Yet understanding how these elements interact is difficult. A policy that creates economic growth may increase inequality. An ambitious transformation may require investments that are hard to finance alone. Cooperation may unlock opportunities, but it also requires negotiation, trust and shared commitments.

FUTURE NOW is an interactive economic and societal simulation that makes these dynamics tangible.

Instead of simply discussing possible futures, players make decisions, invest resources, negotiate agreements and explore the consequences of their choices in a shared game world.

Build the game world together

FUTURE NOW begins with a hands-on experience.

Players draw the board themselves, place cards and game pieces, and gradually build a shared representation of the world they are trying to change. The playing field is not just a surface for moving pieces. It becomes a space for collective thinking, experimentation and strategic decisions.

As the simulation unfolds, players encounter choices about investment, transformation, cooperation and the allocation of limited resources.

Should you act independently or work with others? Which transition is worth investing in? What are you willing to pay now to create better conditions later?

Every decision changes the situation and opens up new possibilities—or creates new constraints.

There is no predetermined path to success. Players have to understand the situation, anticipate consequences and adapt their strategies as the game develops.

Designed by Goldmund Leberecht (Mut.Macher!@Generation iTrust).

A good fit for game nights where you want to talk about more than who won.

Players: [6-25] · Time: approx. [150] · Age: [16+] · Language: [German/English]