TANTAN’EAU – a wordplay merging «Tantano» (to manage in Malagasy) and «Eau» (water in French) – is a serious game that helps decision-makers explore flood risk management. Designed to balance playability, realism, and the incorporation of architectural propositions, it immerses players in the challenges of peri-urban development in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo (Tana).
Designed as part of Constance Brouillet‘s doctorate for the research project Future Cities Laboratory Global Tana, the serious game immerses participants in the roles of real estate developers, mayors, flood risk technicians or landscape planners. The game invites participants to make decisions about the development of a fictional municipality at risk of flooding. Participants take actions to enhance flood resilience while balancing competing priorities between developing new infrastructure and maintaining agriculture.
The game allows players to choose between traditional infrastructure, such as turning swamps into water reservoirs or rock filling the earth-based dikes, and blue-green infrastructure like investing in fishponds and recreational water reservoirs or greening the dikes. These infrastructures aim to reduce flood risks while providing food, offering recreational space or enhancing the aesthetics of the landscape. They were inspired by landscape designs developed by architectural students under the lead of Dr. Philipp Urech. The link between the in-game solutions to the visual propositions was discussed with the participants at the end of the game sessions.
Thanks to the graphic designer, Ralph Sonderegger, the original cardboard version was translated into a 3D-printed model. His design prioritised playability and ergonomics, introducing features inspired by classic games. Key changes included:
- A green poker-style board – to boost player engagement and interest in playing iconic games
- Water stones, reminiscent of the traditional Malagasy game Fanorona – to track landscape water capacity and flood risks
- Placements for water stones within each tile – to intuitively understand the water capacity of different land-use types
- 3D housing typologies – to enhance immersion into the local context, where the forms and colours are inspired by local architecture
These changes strengthened the game’s usability and players’ learning about water dynamics. Although TANTAN’EAU is grounded in the context of Antananarivo, it reflects the challenges of many flood-prone cities in rapidly urbanising contexts. The game is not static, and we are currently adapting the tool to use it for educational purposes, where university students could learn about flood mitigation measures, recognise the perspectives of different stakeholders, and train their negotiation skills.
Constance Brouillet is a doctoral candidate within the Future Cities Lab Global Project at the chair of Planning Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS, IRL)
