

đ·"Flourishing by Design" Presents: Hopeful Futures Game Night
âđ· About the Event
âNeed a break from the AI optimists vs. doomers debate? Looking for a little existential hope?
âWhat if prototyping better futures could be as fun as game night?
âJoin us for an evening of play (have you tried Bodystorming or One-Word Story?), creative conversation, and collaborative imagination as we explore what it means to thrive as humansâand as part of the living worldâin an age of rapid technological change.
âTogether we'll play some of our favorite futures gamesâsome we'll bring, and maybe even invent a few togetherâto explore questions like:
ââš What kind of future do we actually want to create?
ââš What might learning, work, community, and everyday life look like in 2126?
ââš How can technology better support people, communities, and our living planet?
ââš How can each of us have more agency in shaping what's next?
âAlong the way, you'll discover practical design toolsâfrom speculative futures and systems mapping to participatory design methodsâthat you can take back to your work, your community, and everyday life. Together, we'll explore how to design not just for what's probable, but for what's possible.
âWhether you're a designer, technologist, educator, founder, policymaker, artist, philosopherâor simply a curious humanâthere's something here for you.
âđČ Come learn a few new games, or bring a favorite game or facilitation method to share! We'd love this series to become a playground where people exchange the tools they're using to imagine and build better futures together.
âNo design background. No AI expertise. No "right" answers.
âJust bring your curiosity, your imagination, and maybe a friend.
âđ Your Hosts
âđ©âđ« Sara Blenkhorn is Director of Innovation at the Buckminster Fuller Institute, a nonprofit carrying forward Buckminster Fuller's 43-year legacy of creating a world that works for all life through design, systems thinking, and regenerative innovation.
âđ©âđ« Mingzhu He is a life-aligned systems designer and Executive Director of the Flourishing Systems Foundation, a nonprofit innovation lab researching, designing, testing new models that help people, technology, and living systems thrive together in an age of rapid technological change.
âđ©âđ« Jessica Groopman is a Silicon Valley tech industry analyst, advisor, and speaker studying the intersection of emerging technologies and systemic regeneration. She is the founder of the Regenerative Technology Project which works with innovation leaders globally to develop tech in service of all Life, and co-founder of Regen Bridge, which bridges funders, practitioners and the next generation towards Horizon 3 investment strategies. She is also a certified Warm Data Host and event facilitator.
âđ©âđ« Rebecca Pan is a 13x founder focused on environmental and social systems change. She runs Trellis, a climate-centered coworking and event space, as well as EarthScale, an accelerator to scale climate solutions.
âđČ Why Games?
âGames are most ancient yet modern âand most enjoyableâ ways to rehearse new futures. They've been one of humanity's oldest tools for learning, collaboration, and imaginationâand they're found throughout the animal kingdom, too.
âThey help us step outside our everyday assumptions, take safe risks, experiment with new ideas, and experience different ways of thinking, relating, and being before bringing them into the real world.
âMany of the systems that shape our livesâfrom education and healthcare to markets and governmentsâare built on rules. Games give us a playful way to explore what becomes possible when we redesign those rules.
âSo let's rehearse hopeful futuresâthrough play.