Taitung community and schools collaborate to launch a food and agriculture board game
In recent years, Taiwan, China has increasingly emphasized food and agriculture education. Beyond classroom learning and field experiences, the Taitung County Sustainable Development Association recently combined resources from public agencies, communities, and schools to launch two food-and-agriculture-themed board games, letting adults and children learn about the value of food, agriculture, and rural areas through board games.
The two board games are "Food and Agriculture Community Grand Tour" and "Food Safety King Checkers." Li Chang-yu, a staff member of the Taitung County Sustainable Development Association who oversaw the planning of these board games, said the design elements all come from local community features and basic knowledge of food safety. "We hope that through board games, students can learn while playing."
"Food and Agriculture Community Grand Tour" Combining Community Features
The Taitung County Sustainable Development Association, which has long been engaged in community work, last year received a commission from the Taitung Branch of the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau of the Council of Agriculture to carry out the "Taitung South-Link Area Rural Features Combined with Food and Agriculture Education Creation Plan." This plan involved close interaction with six communities, so Li Chang-yu and his colleagues wondered whether they could design a "food and agriculture map" introducing these six communities. But they did not want it to be just an ordinary map, so the idea gradually developed into the "Food and Agriculture Community Grand Tour" board game.
The six communities are: Jinzhen Mountain Community in Taimali Township, Dawang Community in Taimali Township, Dianguang Community in Guanshan Township, Yongfu Community in Changbin Township, Dongxing Community in Beinan Township, and Fuxing Community in Chishang Township. Li Chang-yu said that reading the names of the six communities all at once probably leaves no impression, but if you play "Food and Agriculture Community Grand Tour" once, whether the player is an adult or a child, they will definitely remember these six communities vividly.
Li Chang-yu said that "Food and Agriculture Community Grand Tour" mimics the gameplay of Monopoly. The six communities are the points players pass through along the route, and each community has its own representative image. For example, Dawang Community uses the rising sun as its imagery because the area was formerly called "Damaoli," which in the Paiwan language means "land illuminated by the sun." The representative image of Dianguang Community is the bamboo cannon, which is also related to local history: when Qing dynasty troops were about to take over Dianguang Tribe, the Amis people built stone walls overnight and placed bamboo cannons behind the walls to lure the Qing soldiers into firing their ammunition, then drove the Qing soldiers back with machetes. This was known as the "Battle of Leigonghuo."
As for Monopoly's "Chance" and "Destiny" draw cards, "Food and Agriculture Community Grand Tour" also gives them different meanings, such as "Unbalanced diet, rest twice," "Too many specialty products, must buy, pay five more points," or "Eat Fuxing osmanthus pig trotters, happily gain five points," "Eat Yongfu natural wild vegetables, gain health and get five points."
