Panic Patrick
In a small, peaceful town, a major threat looms over a beloved natural park: Patrick Bulldozer, a greedy real estate developer, plans to build a luxury hotel on this protected land. But the citizens won’t let it happen without a fight! Through this strategic and cooperative game, Panic Patrick immerses players in a battle between environmental preservation and corporate profit. It’s up to you: will you sabotage Patrick’s project or join his team?
A Strategy and Cooperation Game
Panic Patrick is a role-playing and decision-making game where players take on the role of either engaged citizens or Patrick’s allies. The game unfolds on a board representing the natural park, with its various ecological zones.
Each turn, players will draw cards to carry out actions, individually or collectively, to influence the park’s future:
- Implement sustainable solutions: reforest the park, install compost bins, organize environmental events...
- Undermine Patrick’s project: mobilize the community, launch grassroots initiatives…
- Or, on the contrary, side with Patrick and accelerate the park’s destruction by building polluting infrastructure.
The goal? Control as many areas of the park as possible to ensure either its protection or its transformation into a luxury resort. But beware—some players may be bribed and switch sides!
Why Use Panic Patrick in the Classroom?
This game is a powerful educational tool for exploring environmental and social issues with students. It helps them:
- Understand the dynamics of sustainable development by contrasting preservation and profit-driven strategies.
- Develop critical thinking and decision-making skills by analyzing the impacts of their choices on the environment and society.
- Encourage teamwork and negotiation as they work together to implement community-led solutions.
- Raise awareness of climate and ecological issues through an engaging, hands-on experience.
- Explore the role of citizens and businesses in land management and resource conservation.
With its interactive format, Panic Patrick is suitable for various educational settings, from classroom activities to environmental workshops.
Game Progression
The game unfolds in several phases:
-
Setup
- Each player randomly selects a role: either a citizen or a member of Patrick’s team.
- The game board, representing the park, is placed in the center.
- Each player is given a set number of action cards.
- The "Collective Project" cards are placed in separate piles next to the board.
-
Turn-Based Gameplay On each turn, players choose one of three possible actions:
- Play an individual action card to influence a specific area of the park.
- Launch a collective project if they have the required number of individual actions on a zone.
- Use a special card (e.g., corruption, sabotage, role-switching).
Every action shifts the balance between the preservation and destruction of the park.
-
End of the Game and Winning Conditions The game ends when all zones of the park have been controlled by a collective action.
- If most projects favor the environment, the citizens win.
- If most projects favor corporate profit, Patrick wins.
- If all citizens have been bribed, Patrick wins immediately.
-
Debriefing and Reflection At the end of the game, players complete a reflection sheet on their decisions and discuss the consequences of their actions on the park and the wider community.
-
Materials Included
- A game board depicting the natural park and its different zones.
- Character cards assigning a role to each player (engaged citizen, developer, etc.).
- Individual action cards allowing players to act independently on different areas.
- Collective action cards enabling group decisions and votes on large-scale projects.
- Special cards introducing strategic twists (corruption, sabotage, switching teams).
- A rulebook detailing the mechanics of the game and strategic possibilities.