Hannan Storm Warnings Fall 2017

Storm Warnings!
A Serious Game to Build Communities’ Hurricane Preparedness
By
Maureen Hannan
EDIT 772: Dr. Karen Cooper
December 13, 2017

Maureen Hannan 2

Summary
As destructive hurricanes grow in frequency and intensity, the notion of “resilient communities”
takes on increasing importance (National Resources Defense Council, 2017). One prong of community
resiliency is disaster preparedness—which depends upon individuals’ voluntary commitment (Nirupama
& Maula, 2013). Yet, as serious-‐game designer Jenny Gottstein (2014) points out in a Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) blog article, “The act of ‘getting prepared’ can be isolating and boring. Would I rather go
to the hardware store and pick out flashlights for a crisis that is too scary to think about, or spend time
with my family and friends? The latter, obviously.” Games, she concludes, “can turn something that is
paralyzing, into something that is accessible. We can design games that are entertaining and thought-‐
provoking, without trivializing the disaster experience.”
In the hybrid analog-‐digital game Storm Warnings!, players compete, within a socially
negotiated card game of decision-‐making, to choose actions that align with weather forecasts, timing,
and best practices. The first player to complete the third-‐tier level, Community Leader, wins the game.
Introduction to Game

Need for the Game
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data (2016),
warming oceans make hurricanes more volatile and intense—while also lengthening the duration of
hurricane season. There is simply no substitute for careful storm preparation, yet few citizens have the
knowledge and supplies they need to stay safe, hydrated, warm, healthy, and fed for the critical few
days following a devastating storm. More and more first-‐responder agencies and local officials are
assuming leadership roles in the effort to make their communities more resilient and less dependent on
top-‐down government assistance (FEMA, 2017). Games can be an important part of the toolbox
community leaders use to cultivate ordinary citizens’ preparedness skills.

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Rationale
According to a 2017 (post-‐hurricane-‐season) report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, community
resilience depends on educating members of the general public on proven risk mitigation measures
(Lightbody & Tompkins). Most people do not want to spend mild, sunny days thinking about storms that
might wreck the power grid, flood their homes, and endanger their lives. Similarly, it is unlikely that the
average citizen would spontaneously seek out an educational game on disaster preparedness. While
citizens may not go looking for such games, they may be more likely to attend local training workshops if
they have an expectation of a fun, social time.
The rationale for a serious game on hurricane preparedness is that accessible games may make
it easier for local government and community leaders to engage citizens in workshops on serious or
difficult topics (Wonica, 2015). Through a simple game that resembles familiar party games, instruction
on effective preparation can be embedded into a fun, social, low-‐stakes, high-‐motivation environment.
Object and Impact
The object of the game, pedagogically, is to acquire ready-‐to-‐apply knowledge of storm and
flood preparedness essentials. The object of the game, internally, is to be the first player to complete all
three “prep-‐power” levels—Survivor, Uniter, and Leader. A new level is unlocked when a player racks up
five “trophy cards” from winning rounds. The object of a single round is to play the “Take Action!” card
from one’s hand that most closely aligns with the judge’s determination of next steps, given frame,
forecast, timing, and relevant information. Winning a round earns that round’s “Storm Tracks” card as a
trophy.
Players would come away from the game with a solid foundation in planning and prioritizing for
hurricane season. The hope is that a high level of player engagement would open the door for
Maureen Hannan 4

community leaders and local first-‐responder agencies to program more advanced game events, growing
self-‐reliance and leadership through scenario-‐based simulations.
Learning Goal
The main learning goal is to make sound, appropriate storm/flood preparation decisions
(grounded in FEMA-‐supported best practices for preparedness), given a wide spectrum of scenarios.
Learning Objectives
• To use widely adopted (e.g., FEMA, CDC, American Red Cross) materials to assess individual and
family levels of preparedness.
• To identify the strengths and weaknesses of different disaster response plans/actions, including
evacuation, family rendezvous, and shelter-‐in-‐place plans.
• To identify and prioritize appropriate emergency supplies, equipment, and training.
Game Genre
Storm Warnings! belongs to the serious-‐game genre of disaster preparedness—a genre that
often targets military and first-‐responder personnel. Disaster-‐prepping games have much in common
with the public health genre (e.g., Pandemic)—in that individual survival goals are balanced by a helping-‐
others mission and set against a backdrop of massive social upheaval.
Setting
Storm Warnings! is designed to be played by teens and adults in a local community setting—for
example, a public safety center, a community rec center, a high school classroom, or a church or civic
group hall. A facilitator trained in disaster preparedness would circulate the room, answering questions
about preparedness as they arise and acting as “courts of appeal” for challenges to judges’ decisions.
Maureen Hannan 5

Winning/Completion
The first player to rise past the Survivor and Uniter levels, to complete the level of Community
Leader, wins the game. Leveling up is accomplished by winning five trophy cards.
Gameplay/Engagement
In Storm Warnings!, a group of five to eight players engage in a decision-‐making game. Play is
guided by a card-‐based “board” game, while scenarios are enriched by mobile-‐device-‐supported (QR-‐
code-‐accessed) scaffolding: information, statistics, examples, and/or supporting data. Game mechanics
are designed to present changing scenarios that reflect the variable relationships between the following:
• Household needs and any special considerations.
• Nature and details of regional weather forecasts.
• The time remaining to the forecasted weather event.
• Numerous available courses of action.
How to Play
1. A facilitator selects a persona for the group and reads the group a three-‐minute overview,
during which players are encouraged to ask questions and take notes.
2. A table is set up for game play. Players will each select seven cards from the 200-‐card Action
deck, which is divided up into categories such as “Prepare,” “Plan,” “Relax,” and “Monitor.” The
judge for each round will select from the two scenario-‐building card decks—a “Storm Tracks”
forecast deck and a time-‐to-‐event deck. At each player’s seat is a notepad and pencil. The table
includes two timers—one three-‐minute and one 15-‐second.

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Examples of timeframe and forecast cards. (Note that forecast card would include a QR code, through
which all players could examine risk mitigation measures associated with this rain/flooding forecast.)

Examples of action cards
3. The judge role moves clockwise around the table, changing in each round. The judge begins the
round by laying the selected forecast and timing cards face up and scanning the QR code of the
forecast card with a smartphone to bring up supporting info.
4. Each player selects what they believe is the best (highest-‐priority, next-‐step response) card from
their hand and hands it, face-‐down, to the judge. Once the judge has collected all cards, he or
she turns each over, reading the actions aloud to the group. A three-‐minute timer is set while
the judge consults the smartphone information. During this time, players can search the same
info and also take notes, preparing to defend their choice.
5. Once the time elapses, the judge opens the floor. Each player is allowed to make one statement
(for a maximum of 15 seconds per level achieved) to argue for the superiority of their action.
6. The judge selects a winner for the round and explains his or her reasoning. To award the trophy
card, the judge must provide feedback based on both the supporting information and the
Maureen Hannan 7

situational frame. (For example, “Remember, Marisol has a young child who is a type-‐1 diabetic,
so ensuring refrigeration for insulin storage would be a top-‐tier priority for her.”)
7. Any player may challenge the judge’s decision. If a decision is challenged, the facilitator is called
to the table, and the challenging player must explain to the judge, using both the frame and the
supporting info, why their action should take a higher priority than the one selected.
8. If a facilitator overrules a judge’s call, two things happen. 1) The trophy card goes to the
challenger, and 2) the judge receives a penalty chip. Three penalty chips means the judge has to
surrender one of their own trophy cards (or surrender one immediately once it is earned).
9. The round is complete. Players draw another card from the action deck. The judge role shifts.
10. Once a player earns five trophy cards, they are allowed to advance to the next “prep-‐power”
level. Levels carry power-‐up benefits, fueling players’ motivation to earn each and every card so
as to expand choice and control over the game.
a. Argumentation time is extended by 15 seconds for each new level acquired.
b. One “redeem penalty chip” token is awarded with each new power-‐prep level, to allow
for some buffer from the game-‐play impact of challenge penalties.
c. Level 2 Uniters earn the ability to write in their own proposed actions on blank cards
drawn. This privilege continues into the Level 3 Community Leader tier.
d. Level 3 Community Leader players get to maintain a hand of 10 cards instead of seven.
11. The game concludes once a player has earned a total of 15 cards, thus completing Level 3.
Pedagogy/Learning
Storm Warnings! is a socially negotiated constructivist game that uses bite-‐sized “cases” to transfer
a domain of facts, principles, and priorities (disaster preparedness) using a problem-‐based learning (PBL)
approach. The pedagogical design was inspired by a Red Cross Climate Centre typhoon-‐preparedness
Maureen Hannan 8

game called Before the Storm, also built using the Apples to Apples framework. However, that game was
designed to elicit fairly black-‐and-‐white answers within a developing-‐nations context. It also does not
include a framing scenario, an embedded feedback system, or a system of levels to motivate players and
afford degrees of control over the game (Wonica, 2015).
• Constructivist: Constructivist approaches root information in an epistemology of individuals’
constructing knowledge by making sense of experience. When cases and scenarios are used as a
low-‐stakes substitute for experience, the focus is on personalizing the information so that it is
meaningful within the life context of the learner (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 36). Storm
Warnings! applies a constructivist pedagogy, influenced by Bruner’s (1961) focus on the social
negotiation of knowledge: Participants test their constructions against one another—debating
their merits—while gaining new understandings of constraints and resources from one another.
• Problem-‐based Learning: PBL requires learners to gather and apply information in the process
of solving authentic problems. PBL presents a problem grounded in a scenario, along with a
bank of relevant data to use in defining and solving the problem (Jonassen, p. 157). PBL reverses
the traditional lecture-‐then-‐test pedagogy, putting learners in charge of accessing information
only as they discover the need for it. Research points to improved retention of information,
superior transfer of problem-‐solving skills, and greater likelihood of self-‐regulation and
continued learning within the discipline (Jonassen, p. 158).
In this game, winning a round (and thus a trophy-‐card point) depends on both the judge’s
interpretation of supporting, scenario-‐embedded information and the ability of each player to defend
the validity of their own proposed action. While it is possible to offer an invalid response (e.g., ordering
a case of jerky from Amazon hours before the storm hits), no forecast scenario has just one appropriate
“next action” response.

Maureen Hannan 9

Technical/Interface
The guiding framework of this game is analog, derived from the popular card-‐based, social-‐negotiation
games Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity. The on-‐site facilitator presents the group of game
participants with a framing story of an individual head-‐of-‐household character. (Available frames include
young families, families with teens and college-‐age children, seniors, people with physical disabilities or
chronic illnesses, pregnant or nursing women, etc.) Random card selection determines both the
scenarios (forecast plus time-‐to-‐event) and the choices of action available to each player. Take Action!
cards address a full spectrum of preparation activities, from attending a fitness class, to determining
family meetup locations, to assembling gear to store in one’s car. Supplementing the analog game are
mobile-‐accessible information players can read when they scan the QR code on a forecast card. (Each
community can adapt supporting information to their geography, agencies/personnel, and resources.)
Assessment Details
Players will be assessed on their appropriate application of guidelines to the particular forecast and
timing situations. It is done in three ways:
• The judge’s assessment of players’ responses to the storm situation for that round.
• The judge’s assessment of players’ supporting arguments for their responses.
• A trained facilitator’s assessment of the soundness of a response (if a player challenges the
judge’s decision for that round).
Duration / Game Completion
The game is designed to take two to three hours to play. It is complete once a player amasses 15 trophy
cards (earning the status of Community Leader).

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References
Bruner, J. S. (1961). The Act of Discovery. Harvard Educational Review, 31(1), 21-‐32.
FEMA (2017). Training announcement: Building a roadmap to resilience: A whole community training.
Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/media-‐library-‐data/1510697417837-‐
8ffaf784cc5e6561d00af9eb28ba2f12/FEMA_2018_E426_Training_Announcement_Final_508_(2).p
df
Gottstein, J. (2015). On the track: How games can make us disaster-‐ready. [Blog post.] Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention Public Health. Retrieved from
https://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2015/02/how-‐games-‐can-‐help-‐us-‐prepare-‐for-‐disasters
Jonassen, D.H. (2011). Learning to Solve Problems. New York: Routledge.
Lightbody, L. & Tompkins, F. (2017). Experts discuss disaster preparedness after a catastrophic hurricane
season. Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved from http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-‐and-‐
analysis/blogs/compass-‐points/2017/11/21/experts-‐discuss-‐disaster-‐preparedness-‐after-‐a-‐catastrophic-‐
hurricane-‐season
Merriam, S.B. & Bierema, L.L. (2014). Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-‐
Bass.
National Resources Defense Council (2017). Post-‐hurricane priorities for improving preparedness and
resiliency. [Online article.] Retrieved from https://www.nrdc.org/resources/post-‐hurricane-‐
priorities-‐improving-‐preparedness-‐resiliency
Nirupama, N. & Maula, A. (2013). Engaging public for building resilient communities to reduce disaster
impact. Natural Hazards, 66(1), 51-‐59.
Red Cross Climate Centre. Before the Storm Game Instructions. Retrieved from
http://www.climatecentre.org/games/3/before-‐the-‐storm
Maureen Hannan 11

Wonica, P. (2015). Learning to evaluate analog games for education. Analog Game Studies, 4(5).
Retrieved from http://analoggamestudies.org/2015/05/evaluating-‐educational-‐goals-‐in-‐party-‐
games

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A Serious Game to Build Communities’ Hurricane Preparedness

EDIT 772: Dr. Karen Cooper

December 13, 2017

provoking, without trivializing the disaster experience.”

Introduction to Game

community leaders use to cultivate ordinary citizens’ preparedness skills.

they have an expectation of a fun, social time.

Object and Impact

self-­‐reliance and leadership through scenario-­‐based simulations.

family levels of preparedness.

evacuation, family rendezvous, and shelter-­‐in-­‐place plans.

• To identify and prioritize appropriate emergency supplies, equipment, and training.

• Household needs and any special considerations.

• Nature and details of regional weather forecasts.

• The time remaining to the forecasted weather event.

• Numerous available courses of action.

How to Play

includes two timers—one three-­‐minute and one 15-­‐second.

Examples of action cards

forecast card with a smartphone to bring up supporting info.

as to expand choice and control over the game.

afford degrees of control over the game (Wonica, 2015).

continued learning within the discipline (Jonassen, p. 158).

“next action” response.

timing situations. It is done in three ways:

judge’s decision for that round).

Duration / Game Completion

cards (earning the status of Community Leader).

Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/media-­‐library-­‐data/1510697417837-­‐

Disease Control and Prevention Public Health. Retrieved from

season. Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved from http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-­‐and-­‐

resiliency. [Online article.] Retrieved from https://www.nrdc.org/resources/post-­‐hurricane-­‐

impact. Natural Hazards, 66(1), 51-­‐59.

Retrieved from http://analoggamestudies.org/2015/05/evaluating-­‐educational-­‐goals-­‐in-­‐party-­‐

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self-‐reliance and leadership through scenario-‐based simulations.

evacuation, family rendezvous, and shelter-‐in-‐place plans.

includes two timers—one three-‐minute and one 15-‐second.

Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/media-‐library-‐data/1510697417837-‐

season. Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved from http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-‐and-‐

resiliency. [Online article.] Retrieved from https://www.nrdc.org/resources/post-‐hurricane-‐

impact. Natural Hazards, 66(1), 51-‐59.

Retrieved from http://analoggamestudies.org/2015/05/evaluating-‐educational-‐goals-‐in-‐party-‐