Experiences with the MSP Challenge board game at the World Maritime University
July 2016, Andreas Kannen (Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Germany) played the MSP board game in his MSP course with eleven international students from the World Maritime University (WMU). Andreas he has been so kind to share a few of his very positive experiences. Here’s a useful summary ...
“...the game worked extremely well and was the highlight of the course ... there was much interaction and laughter coming from the lecture room ... other staff, lecturers and students dropped in to see what was going on ... it attracted quite some attention ..."
...participants got into the game quickly ... I gave the participants 15 minutes to have a look at the game materials ... then we started playing ... Shippers went first and developed their shipping lines ... then the planners entered the stage. After each round of about twenty minutes, players stepped back from the board to discuss issues and conflicts. We played for about three hours and ended with a short debriefing.
...while focusing heavily on their own country's objectives, the players completely ignored nature conservation in the first two rounds. It did not seem to matter very much. Then G.O.D. let them know that nature conservationists were protesting and demonstrating and that they should deal with protected areas as the re-lection of their minister (G.O.D.) was now uncertain.”
...fishing was also largely ignored in the first two rounds until they were reminded that the economies and employment in the fishing industry were in decline and that fishermen were protesting. Players developed a strong multi-use system with a focus on tourism in Island, wind energy and industry plus specific tourism areas in Bayland and a mixture in Peninsuland ...
...no international shipping routes were developed and transnational collaboration was low except for some short sea shipping. A 'border issue' came up half way through the game, and a Regional Sea Convention had to resolve the conflict among the countries creating a trilateral cooperation area in the middle of the RICA sea. While the agreement was that resources in that area would be open for use to all three countries, the area remained unused and de facto became a 'protected area' ...
Students experienced and learned that communication among countries and stakeholders is difficult but important. They experienced a bit of stress caused by time pressure. They acknowledged that it is complicated to develop MSP in a multi-use setting. These were also the points that I hoped to get across. I came back to the experiences and lessons of the game during my lectures a few days after...
...the game was an excellent teaching tool in this course environment. Learning by experience was more important here than how well the students developed their plans. We put more emphasis on the process than on content.
The time it takes to play the game - about three hours - is perfectly suited for teaching and training. This allows enough time for discussion and reflection. It combines well with other didactics. The game is also flexible, and trainers can easily make changes in the way they use it. Great game that gives you enthusiastic and appreciative student response. The game can be used for teaching purposes with novices as well as experienced planners.