{"id":285,"date":"2026-06-02T11:08:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/netgain\/?page_id=285"},"modified":"2026-06-12T10:45:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:45:20","slug":"game-teaching-resource","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/netgain\/23-2\/game-teaching-resource\/","title":{"rendered":"Game & teaching resource"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Designing Homes for Nature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have developed a fun board game called Designing Homes for Nature<\/strong>. It was developed in collaboration with an Education Specialist & Primary School Teacher, Ecologist & Environmental Economist and Illustrator. It was designed as a teaching and consolidation resource in support of the Key Stage 2 (Year 4) curriculum requirement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“(Living things and their habitats) to consider positive and negative human impacts on the environment, and the positive effects of nature reserves.<\/em>“<\/p>Key Stage 2 Curriculum<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How does it work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Designing Homes for Nature<\/strong> can be played by two to four players, who are aged eight years old or over. It has been designed to be printed off on both A4 and A3 size paper. To play, you just need some scissors to cut the boards and cards out and a pencil to keep a note of your scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game includes one set of instructions and each player or team will have three Nature Homes (Habitat Boards) set out in front of them. During the game, players select from a series of twenty-one different Species Cards and eight different Activity \u2018Wild\u2019 Cards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Players get to decide what type of Nature Home their Species will live in based on a points system. There are two kinds of points: Human and Nature points. Human points reflect whether humans like seeing or interacting a Species, whilst Nature points depend on whether the animals like living close to humans or not. The Activity Wild Cards change the points scoring system depending on how people interact with nature during the activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Nature facts’ are incorporated on each Species card to help players make decisions about which Habitat Board they want to place them on. A reference system for species taxa reinforces curriculum learning and the Activity Wild Cards introduce an element of jeopardy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winner of the game is the player or team which designs the Nature Homes with highest number of points…. BUT is this Human or Nature points? The players get to debate and decide who wins – humans or nature or is it a compromise for both!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What does the game teach us? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The game has been designed to introduce the following concepts to players: <\/p>\n\n\n\n