Masterpolis: Simulating Urban Planning Decisions Through a Boardgame Learning Environment

Abstract

Urban planning education requires students to understand the complex interdependencies between land-use decisions, infrastructure development and sustainability outcomes. However, these dynamics are often difficult to grasp through traditional lecture-based instruction, as urban systems involve multiple actors, resource constraints and long-term consequences. Game-based learning has therefore emerged as a promising approach for enabling learners to engage with complex decision environments in a structured and experiential manner. This study presents Masterpolis, a low-cost physical board game designed as a simulation of urban planning processes within an interconnected territorial system. The research adopted a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach involving iterative cycles of design, implementation and refinement. The prototype was validated through gameplay sessions conducted in university settings, with a total of 35 undergraduate students, drawn from different course groups, from architecture, civil, chemical and environmental engineering programmes, alongside two urban planning experts. Data were collected through structured observation sheets, validation logs and post-session surveys. Session durations ranged from approximately 40 to 90 minutes, depending on the stage of implementation and participant familiarity with the rules. The analysis focused on how participants interacted with the simulation and how gameplay dynamics revealed patterns of negotiation, prioritisation and adaptation. Findings indicate that the board-game environment supported participants in recognising the systemic consequences of planning decisions and encouraged reflection on development–sustainability trade-offs. Iterative refinement of the prototype improved rule clarity, visual organisation and gameplay flow, reducing the need for rule clarification in later sessions. The study contributes to research on game-based learning for complex systems education by demonstrating how low-cost analogue simulations can support experiential engagement with urban planning processes. It also provides a Global South perspective on the use of accessible game-based tools to support the teaching of complex territorial decision-making in higher education. Analysis combined descriptive statistics with thematic coding of observational and survey data. The study contributes three transferable insights: that rule clarity and facilitation are prerequisites for engagement with complex simulations; that group size significantly shapes participation dynamics; and that analogue simulations can support the development of systems thinking in architecture and engineering programmes where such pedagogical tools remain underexplored.