Categorization of Energy Games

Energy Island : https://energyislandgame.co.uk/

Energy Island game is about players managing the electricity system of an island by selecting energy technologies and balancing reliability, cost, and environmental impact over a simulated 24-hour cycle

Cost: Free

Time: 15–30 min game estimate

People Required / Recommended: 1 player or small group per screen

Why this game:

• Easy way to learn basic energy planning.
• Shows how different energy sources meet demand.
• Helps explain the balance between cost, pollution, and reliability.
• Shows how weather and time of day affect power supply.

Energy Farm: https://www.energyfarmgame.co.uk/

Energy Farm is a game where players design and manage a farm energy system by choosing technologies such as solar, wind, diesel, biomass, batteries, and grid connections while balancing cost, reliability, and environmental impact

Cost: Free

Time: 15–30 min game estimate

People Required / Recommended: 1 player or small group per screen

Why this game:

• Simple way to learn how a small energy system works.
• Shows how farms need power for lighting, heating, machines, and daily work.
• Helps explain the balance between budget, reliability, cost, and pollution.
• Teaches why batteries are useful when demand changes during the day.
• Gives a practical example of choosing the right energy mix to avoid power cuts.

EPA Generate: https://www.epa.gov/climate-research/generate-game-energy-choices

EPA Generate is a classroom energy-planning board game where teams build an electricity system while balancing demand, cost, emissions, water use, resources, and policy limits.

Cost: Free

Time: 60 – 90 Minutes

People Required / Recommended: 5 teams, about 4–6 students per team. Total around 20–30 players.

Why this game:

• Easy way to show how energy choices work in a classroom.
• Helps students compare cost, emissions, water use, and pollution.
• Shows that the cheapest energy option is not always the best.
• Adds policy rules step by step, so students rethink their choices.
• It makes complex energy planning simple and hands-on.

Sim Energy Empire: https://www.simenergyempire.com/

A market-heavy energy simulation where players manage assets, trade fuel and power, and compete in a stylized electricity-and-commodities environment.

Cost: Free

Time: 30–60 min timeboxed estimate

People Required / Recommended:1 or more players

Why this game:

• Shows energy from both business and market side.
• Players learn how power plants, fuel costs, demand, and prices affect profit.
• Adds real challenges like weather changes and market competition.
• Explains why energy decisions are also financial decisions.

NESO Balancing the Grid: https://www.neso.energy/energy-101/balancing-grid-interactive-game

It is an operator-perspective interactive game that gives players a feel for the moment-to-moment challenge of keeping the electricity grid stable.

Cost: Free

Time: 10–20 min estimate

People Required / Recommended: 1 player at a time

Why this game:

• Teaches why supply and demand must match in real time.
• Builds quick decision-making when weather or demand changes.
• Explains the trade-off between cost, reliability, and clean energy.
• Helps us understand the grid operation side of energy systems.

Stanford Energy Market Game: https://pesd.fsi.stanford.edu/energy-market-game

In this game, players act like generation companies or market participants inside a stylized electricity market and compare how different auction and policy rules change behavior and outcomes.

Cost: Free

Time: 10–20 min estimate

People Required / Recommended: Single-player or multiplayer

Why this game:

• Shows how electricity markets actually work.
• Helps players understand bidding, prices, and competition.
• Connects energy decisions with policy tools like carbon tax and cap-and-trade.
• Helps explain why energy rules can change market behavior.
• Adds the market and pricing side that many simple energy games miss.

Energy Policy Simulator: https://energypolicy.solutions/home/brazil/en

A national-scale policy simulator for testing how different packages of climate and energy policies affect emissions, GDP, jobs, health, electricity composition, and trade outcomes over time.

Cost: Free

Time: The model itself runs in only a few seconds, but there is no fixed “gameplay” time. Best used as a guided exploration activity.

People Required / Recommended: 1 user or group activity

Why this game:

• Shows how policy choices affect energy, economy, and health.
• Helps compare different paths, not just one solution.
• Makes long-term impacts easier to see through charts.
• Connects climate goals with GDP, jobs, costs, and emissions.
• Shows the bigger picture behind energy decisions.

Power Play: https://power-play.nl/

Players become the energy minister of a fictional country and try to steer its energy transition using a data-informed model built on the Energy Transition Model and IEA data.

Cost: Free

Time: The lesson uses a 45-minute timer, and one case-study page describes the full classroom activity as about 90 minutes including prep/reflection.

People Required / Recommended: 1 player online, but also works well in group sessions

Why this game?

• Easy for non-experts to understand the energy system.
• Lets players act as Energy Minister and make real choices.
• Shows how energy, infrastructure, industry, and households are connected.
• Encourages discussion and teamwork in a group setting.
• Gives a broad, fact-based view of the energy transition.

Energy Transition Game: https://energytransition.socialsimulations.org/en/#roles

Energy Transition Game is a role-based simulation where players act as different energy stakeholders and make decisions to manage the shift from fossil fuels to cleaner energy while balancing cost, demand, policy, and social impact.

Cost: Face-to-face facilitated workshop: €4,500 net for non-commercial organizations and €9,000 net for commercial organizations, excluding travel and accommodation.

Time: 5-6 hours

People Required / Recommended: 12–36 players

Why this game?

• Shows energy transition as a real system problem, not just a technical issue.
• Lets players take different roles like producers, government, grid operators, and NGOs.
• Teaches how money, demand, competition, and consumer satisfaction affect decisions.
• Encourages teamwork, negotiation, and communication between stakeholders.
• Shows the human, policy, and business side of energy transition.

Mega Watt: https://megawatt.game/

Cost: Free for schools/ 25$ to buy cards

Time: 40 mins estimate

People Required / Recommended: 2–5 players

Why this game?

• Makes energy choices simple and fun through cards.
• Shows the trade-off between power, cost, and environmental impact.
• Adds real-world events like carbon taxes, EV growth, and climate issues.
• Encourages strategy because players must build, upgrade, and react each round.
• Teaches energy planning in a competitive and easy-to-follow way.