The Alps are changing — and everyone sees it differently. Pick a role. See the same mountain through different eyes. That's the game.
Hut guardians wake up to shorter snow seasons and longer fire-risk periods. For the people who live and work in the Alps, climate change is not a projection. It is already this season.
Visitors arrive at different times and want different things. The economic model that held for decades is under pressure — and everyone has to adapt, but not always together.
The hard part is not knowing that change is coming. It is figuring out what to do about it, with the people around you, when the answers are genuinely uncertain.
The HutObsTour research project has spent years studying Alpine huts across Switzerland and France: how they are governed, how they are used, how they are adapting. That knowledge has stayed too long inside academic papers.
Alpine Huts: The Game brings that research out of the lab and onto the table — a cooperative game designed to be played in the huts themselves, in classrooms, and in community spaces across the Alps. Not as a lecture. As a shared experience.
Bring together a group in a hut, a classroom, or a community space. No prior knowledge needed.
Each player takes a role. Navigate real climate and tourism scenarios. The decisions are hard because they are real.
No winner, no loser. Just a group that understands the trade-offs better than they did an hour ago.
This game isn't designed in an office and delivered to the mountains. Every version is shaped, tested, and challenged by the people who live the questions daily.
A first prototype emerged from a Refuge Remix session at the Saleinaz hut — created with guardians, researchers, and mountain lovers around one table.
The team is playing, questioning, and redesigning — exploring formats from cards to digital companions. The mechanics will be chosen for what teaches best, not what looks familiar.
From 2027, game sessions in 10+ huts and 5+ schools across Switzerland and France. Every session feeds the next version.
Associate professor specialising in mountain tourism, climate adaptation, and Alpine governance. Lead researcher on HutObsTour.
PhD in machine learning, serious game designer and science communicator. Award-winning creator of immersive heritage experiences in Alpine villages.
Researcher on climate vulnerability and governance of Alpine huts, integrating HutObsTour findings into the game content.
Responsible for project coordination, digital presence, and dissemination, from this website to the final public event.
Leads in-person workshops and facilitates game sessions in Alpine huts, schools, and community venues across Switzerland and France.
Supports project operations and serves as liaison between the research team, institutional partners, and field communities.
Workshops with hut guardians, researchers, and educators shape the first playable prototype. We build it with the community, not just for them.
Game sessions in 10 or more huts and five or more schools across Switzerland and France. Every session feeds the next version.
Open-access release in four languages, with a public event in the mountains. Free for anyone to download, print, play, and adapt.
Want to know when the game is ready — or when a session happens near your hut, school, or valley? Leave your email and we'll keep you posted. Hut guardians and teachers interested in hosting a session in 2027 are especially welcome.
This opens your email app — we simply add you to the project updates list. No spam, a few updates per year, unsubscribe anytime.