15°C 2026

​15°C is an educational cooperative game that explores the causes and mechanisms of global warming, serving as a powerful warning about the ongoing climate crisis. It beautifully demonstrates the balance of Earth's climate, teaching players that greenhouse gases are not inherently evil; a certain amount is necessary to keep the planet from freezing. The true challenge lies in active management and finding the perfect balance.

​On Your Turn: Through simple hand-management mechanics, players play cards to add or remove greenhouse gases and handle radiant energy. Heat cubes are continuously trapped by greenhouse gases on the board. Players must carefully time their actions—like triggering a "Virtuous Cycle of the Ecosystem" to clear heavily saturated Methane or CO2 cards—to release heat back into the atmosphere and cool the planet down. ​ Game End and Winning: Starting at 7°C, players must survive the entire deck of cards. You will inevitably heat up the Earth, but you must work together to cool it back down to a perfect 15°C by the end of the game. While the rules are simple to learn, achieving this perfect balance and winning the game is intentionally difficult. This challenging difficulty is a deliberate design choice meant to indirectly reflect the harsh reality that resolving the actual global climate crisis is no easy task. It is a highly engaging game of timing and teamwork that brings the pressing issue of global warming to the tabletop.

​Educational Impact and Accessibility: Taking less than 5 minutes to teach and under 30 minutes to play, 15°C is highly accessible. Because great effort was put into seamlessly integrating the actual scientific principles of Earth's radiative equilibrium directly into the core mechanics, the game is already being actively used in science education. It effortlessly teaches these core concepts through repeated play, strategic balance, and engaging teamwork.

—description from the designer