A program that promotes innovative ideas for nuclear disarmament is calling on the gaming community to develop digital game ideas to educate the public on the risk of nuclear weapons. N Square, a $2.4 million pilot program, has partnered with Games for Change, an organization that promotes the development of digital social impact games, in creating a nuclear safety design competition. The N Square Challenge “invites anyone, anywhere, to conceptualize a game that will engage and educate players about the dynamics of nuclear weapons risk” for a $10,000 cash prize, Games for Change said. Over the weekend, a Nuclear Risk Game Jam in Chicago engaged participants in “creative brainstorming and rapid prototyping sessions” and pitch development for “live role-playing games, tabletop and board games, and, of course, digital games,” according to the event announcement.
Competition submissions are due via an online form by Nov. 22 and the winner will be selected on Dec. 10. The winning idea “will be developed into a playable game and featured as part of a traveling pop-up innovation lab experience,” Games for Change said. N Square is an initiative funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ploughshares Fund, and the Skoll Global Threats Fund.