Our colleague Eric Gordon, who runs the Engagement Game Lab, builds game-like environments that encourage people to discuss public issues in ways that are fun and motivating. The games also yield really good data for civil servants who want public input and enhance citizens’ relationships with each other.

Here are citizens playing a game that Eric built to collect public input for the Boston Public Schools. Parts of the game were played online and other parts were face-to-face.

At its heart, the game was a discussion of issues and priorities, but participants earned points and powers by completing various missions–all of which strengthened the dialogue. Eric sometimes builds role-playing into games, because pretending you are a fictional character can be a spur to thinking about civic issues.

Version of CommunityPlanIT will be played in Detroit, MI, starting on May 7, and in Quincy, MA, starting tomorrow. If you happen to reside in one of those towns, you should play. If you live anywhere and are interested in civic engagement, this is an experiment to follow.