A Board Game And Cybernetics

Complex adaptive systems use a great amount of computer simulations to generate data and emphasize patterns in systems. In order to simulate a systems complex behavior in a faster and more pleasant maner we have used a multi-player non-deterministic board game. Our conviction was that games can serve as an interactive education tool and we wanted to help students understand the properties of a complex adaptive systems. As a cybernetic system, the rules of a game define the sensors, comparators, and activators of the game's feedback loops. Within a game, there are many sub-systems that regulate the flow of play, dynamically changing and transforming game elements. Incorporating a game such as The Settlers of Catan into a class room increased students’ engagement and helped them retrieve insight about how feedback loops look like in reallife and what’s the exemplification of an adaptive behavior. The aim of this article is to share the relevance of the use of SOC for learning about complex adaptive systems.