Belize Tradeoff: Playing The Best Game

Tradeoff! is a series of mapping board games developed by the Natural Capital Project. The game was created to introduce concepts related to nature's benefits to people and to mirror the analytical approach of InVEST. The game is intended to be played by multiple teams of up to 8-10 people, with each version played in two rounds. Tradeoff! Best Coast Belize is the first version of the game, designed as an interactive exercise for marine conservation practitioners in the Caribbean. The game focuses on trade-offs and synergies among revenue-generating activities and the values of the services they depend on, including carbon sequestration and flood protection. During the game, players place development pieces and make decisions about replacing or adding conservation pieces to mitigate the costs of development.

The game's objective is to teach users about synergies and trade-offs between market and non-market values of ecosystem services

Tradeoff! is a series of mapping board games developed by the Natural Capital Project. The games are designed to introduce concepts related to nature's benefits to people, mirroring the analytical approach of InVEST. Tradeoff! is intended to be a more accessible way to convey the approach to a broader audience, especially those who are not experienced with scientific modelling. The game is available in four versions, one of which is Best Coast Belize, focusing on coastal zone management.

Best Coast Belize is played in two rounds by teams of two or more players, with a maximum of eight individuals per team. In the first round, each team is provided with two out of four maps, showing potential revenues from coastal tourism and fisheries along the coast of Belize. As developers, teams must strategically place three hotels and five fishing camps on the maps, earning points based on the values of the squares adjacent to their properties.

Between rounds, teams learn their net score for the first round, which includes points gained from development and points lost due to the impact of those developments on coastal and marine ecosystem services. In the second round, participants are given two new maps showing the locations of natural habitats and non-market values of nature, such as shoreline protection. They must then consider multiple trade-offs, including the value of healthy ecosystems as nurseries for economically important fisheries and as protection from sea-level rise and flooding.

It is played in two rounds, with teams placing development pieces and making decisions about conservation

Tradeoff! is a series of mapping games developed by the Natural Capital Project that introduces concepts related to nature's benefits to people. The game is played in two rounds, with teams of up to 8-10 people placing development pieces and making decisions about conservation.

In the first round, teams place development pieces on the game board, such as hotels, farms, port expansions, or roads. After the first round, teams are introduced to the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services and are provided with additional maps of ecosystem services for their game boards.

In the second round, teams make decisions about replacing development pieces and adding conservation pieces to mitigate the costs of development. They can move their economic development activities and protect valuable services by designating protected areas, offsets, or other conservation-friendly uses. The goal is to earn the most points by practicing smart planning and considering the trade-offs between development and nature's values.

For example, in the Best Coast Belize version of the game, teams must build hotels and site fishing camps by placing them on maps depicting potential recreation, tourism, and fisheries values. In the second round, they learn about the impact of their development choices on coastal and marine ecosystem services and are provided with maps showing natural habitats and non-market values of nature, such as shoreline protection. Teams must then weigh the benefits of development against the importance of healthy ecosystems and make decisions to improve their scores.

Players must place pieces strategically to maximise their points score

Tradeoff! is a series of mapping board games that introduce concepts related to nature's benefits to people. The game is played in two rounds, with teams placing development pieces on the board, such as hotels, farms, port expansions, and roads. In the Best Coast Belize version of the game, players are provided with maps showing potential revenues from coastal tourism and fisheries along the coast of Belize. Each team must build three hotels and site five fishing camps by placing them strategically on the maps.

In the second round, players are provided with explicit information about ecosystem service values to help them improve their scores. They can move their economic development activities and also protect valuable services by designating protected areas or conservation-friendly uses. After a timed second round, the calculator computes a final score, and the team with the highest score wins.

The game is designed to reveal critical information gradually, giving players an opportunity to maximise points with additional information on nature's values. By weighing the benefits of healthy ecosystems and development goals, players can improve their scores and learn about the trade-offs involved in coastal management decisions.

An online calculator is used to compute the points each team receives, revealing points lost due to trade-offs

Tradeoff! is a series of mapping board games developed by the Natural Capital Project. It introduces concepts related to nature's benefits to people, mirroring the analytical approach of InVEST. The game is designed to be a more effective way to convey the approach of InVEST to a broader audience, especially those who are not experienced with scientific modelling.

The game is played with 2-3 teams of 4-6 players each, and there are currently four versions of Tradeoff! available: Best Coast Belize (coastal zone management), Tradeoff! Agriculture Edition (terrestrial/freshwater services), Northland: Arctic Choices (arctic development), and Roads to a Resilient Future (linear infrastructure development).

In the Best Coast Belize version, the first round involves teams placing development pieces on the game board, such as hotels, farms, port expansions, or roads. Between rounds, teams are introduced to the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services and are provided with additional maps of ecosystem services for their game boards. In the second round, teams make decisions about replacing development pieces and adding conservation pieces to mitigate the costs of development.

An online calculator is provided to compute the points each team receives, revealing points lost due to trade-offs. The calculator takes into account the number of development pieces placed and the conservation efforts made by each team. The calculator may also consider the specific rules and objectives of the game version, such as the Best Coast Belize version, which focuses on coastal zone management. The calculator ensures a standardised and consistent scoring system across different game sessions and helps players understand the impact of their decisions on their scores.

Overall, the Tradeoff! game series, including the Best Coast Belize version, offers an engaging and interactive way to learn about natural capital and ecosystem services, with the online calculator being a crucial tool for computing team scores and understanding the consequences of trade-offs.

In round two, players are given explicit information about ecosystem service values to improve their scores

Tradeoff! is a series of mapping board games developed by the Natural Capital Project. It introduces concepts related to nature's benefits to people, mirroring the analytical approach with InVEST. The game is intended to be played by multiple teams of up to 8-10 people. Each Tradeoff! version is played in two rounds. During the first round, teams place development pieces (e.g. hotels, farms, port expansions, roads).

In the second round, players are given explicit information about ecosystem service values to improve their scores. Between rounds, teams are introduced to the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services and are equipped with additional maps of ecosystem services for their game boards. In the second round, teams then make decisions about replacing development pieces and adding other conservation pieces to help mitigate the costs of development.

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