Game Digital Dilemmas: From Dystopia to Utopia

Are you ready to shape the future? Step into the world of digital dilemmas and see where your choices lead!

In the 'Digital Dilemmas: From Dystopia to Utopia' board game, you will step into the role of a tech entrepreneur navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape. As the head of a startup, you will make critical decisions about user privacy, employee conditions, resource consumption and environmental sustainability, advertising, and corporate ethics. Every choice shapes the future—will you drive the world toward a utopian digital society, or fuel a dystopian tech empire?

With minimal regulation and a fiercely competitive market, financial success is not guaranteed. You must balance financial growth and ethical responsibility while competing against rival companies facing similar dilemmas. Will you be a visionary leader, a ruthless capitalist, or something in between? The path you choose is yours!

About the game

Digital Dilemmas is an engaging and thought-provoking tabletop game that places players in the role of tech industry leaders. As startup founders, they must navigate financial pressures while making ethical decisions that shape the future of their companies—and the digital world.

Between dilemmas, players make strategic moves to upgrade technology, invest in legal protection, and influence regulations in their favor.

The ethical dilemmas in the game are not fictional. They are based on real-world controversies faced by tech companies, from data privacy violations to the environmental costs of massive server farms. This makes Digital Dilemmas more than just a game—it’s a window into the ethical crossroads of our digital age.

Nevertheless, Digital Dilemmas is not just about winning—it’s about understanding the systemic pressures that drive corporate decision-making. Players are encouraged to debate and reflect on key questions such as:

• If you were leading a company, would you be willing to take financial losses to uphold ethical values?
• How does the competitive landscape influence companies' willingness to take ethical risks?
• Is it possible to run an ethical company while remaining competitive?
• Does the current system reward responsible innovation, or short-term profit?
• Would the tech industry function differently under an alternative economic system?

By experiencing these challenges firsthand, players gain a deeper awareness of the ethical complexities shaping the tech industry. The game sparks meaningful discussions, making it an ideal tool for classrooms, workshops, and corporate ethics training.

Beyond entertainment, Digital Dilemmas is an educational resource for universities, researchers, and professionals interested in business ethics, digital governance, and corporate responsibility. It provides a hands-on approach to understanding how economic incentives and ethical considerations collide in high-stakes decision-making.

License

The game is under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons License. This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.

About the project

Digital Dilemmas was designed and developed by Angelos Konstantinidis, with partial funding from the Jantina Tammes School of Digital Society, Technology and AI, University of Groningen, Netherlands.

Graphics Design: Ilaria Rosso

Why play?

Digital Dilemmas challenges players to balance profit and ethics in the tech industry, presenting real-world dilemmas that encourage critical reflection on the impact of their decisions. The game sparks debate on key issues like data privacy, sustainability, and labor conditions, helping players hone their ethical reasoning skills. Drawing from actual ethical challenges faced by tech companies, it raises awareness of urgent industry concerns.

Digital Dilemmas lets players explore complex digital ethics in a fun, competitive setting. Whether you’re a professional, educator, student, or anyone interested in digital ethics, the game provides a dynamic and engaging way to dive into these critical topics.

Game Learning Objectives

• Raise awareness of overlooked ethical issues in the tech industry, prompting players to critically examine real-world dilemmas that often go unaddressed.
• Encourage critical thinking about the impact of business decisions on society.
• Highlight the tension between profit and ethics in capitalism, where profit often outweighs ethical concerns.
• Challenge players to consider whether systemic change is necessary or if ethical behavior can thrive within the current market-driven economy.
• Encourage ethical reasoning and debate, allowing players to articulate different perspectives on corporate dilemmas.
• Simulate real-world pressures faced by tech executives, making ethical decision-making more tangible and complex.

Download, print, and play the game

You can download all game materials and the Game Guide here.

Get involved

The 'Digital Dilemmas: From Dystopia to Utopia' board game is an evolving project, and we welcome the input and engagement of people passionate about digital ethics, the tech industry, and board games. There are several ways you can get involved, described below.

Provide feedback

We are always looking for ways to improve the game and make it even more relevant to the challenges faced by tech industry leaders. If you have played the game and have feedback on the experience, or if you have suggestions for new dilemmas based on real-world ethical issues, we would love to hear from you! Your input can help shape the game’s development.

Contact information

Have any questions about the game, its development, or how to use it in educational settings? Feel free to reach out! We are here to provide more information, offer support, or explore potential partnerships. Contact us at: a.konstantinidis rug.nl

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