Residents and firefighters from the town of Tomales, CA, came together on June 8 to play a community safety-inspired board game created by Associate Professor Thomas Maiorana. In the game board, “Tomales Resilience,” an experimental game that simulates a real-life wildfire evacuation, the community members play as themselves as a disaster situation arises around them.  

Maiorana created the game with an interdisciplinary team of colleagues at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Cruz. The National Science Foundation funded the project.

In playing the game residents calculated whether they would start with a bonus or a penalty and points were added for how prepared they were in real life. Points were awarded for preparedness, like by already having a pre-packed emergency bag or a radio. Points were subtracted for factors that could slow them down, like having multiple pets.

A local firefighter employed a spinner which generated the characteristics of an imaginary fire, including which day and time the fire would break out. Residents put their game pieces — which represented their real-life modes of transportation — at the point on the map where they would be at that time.

As the game progressed, players encountered new variables — a blocked road, an additional fire, a neighbor asking for help — as they tried to get to their destinations.

“Games are a great way to explore complex scenarios in a very low-stakes way,” said Maiorana. “Games can create a visceral experience by hinting at some of the stress and pressure that would occur in an actual evacuation. Yet, because it is not actually a life and death situation, players are able to think in more creative ways. This then enables them to build confidence and they will be far more prepared in the case of an actual wildfire.”

The event drew the attention of KQED which did a radio feature. Listen here.