What is NomadSed?

NomadSed is a strategic board game where players assume the role of nomadic herders. ‘How can I provide for my flock in this barren landscape?’ – ‘Is it worthwhile cooperating with my neighbours to protect our livestock from rustlers?’ These are just two of the challenges players need to handle wisely. Yet, gains and losses are not entirely in their hands: round by round, they face natural hazards, react to directives by state agencies or development organisations, and bear the consequences of financial speculation in meat and animal fodder. NomadSed is entertaining and instructive all at once. Current problems that are faced by nomadic societies across the globe have been adapted into a game which offers insights into a unique subject matter.

The game was jointly developed in the context of the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centre 586 ‘Difference and Integration’ in a cooperation between the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig, the University of Leipzig, and the Berlin University of the Arts.

Number of players: 3-6

Recommended age: 10+

Playing time: about 90 minutes