ChillLynn: A Climate Board Game

Increase Public Awareness of Extreme Urban Heat Solutions
Timeline: February-March 2024
Client: City of Lynn (MA), Planning Department

Our engagement approach was designed to raise awareness of existing cooling assets in Lynn, envision and locate future cooling infrastructure throughout the city, and allocate a limited budget to implement this vision. We designed a board game with responsive lighting, vibrant colors, and tactile game pieces to engage a younger audience, recognizing that much of Lynn’s community comprises school-aged children.

Lynn’s High Schoolers Trying Out Our Game

“Welcome to ChillLynn, an interactive board game where you take on the role of a city planner, tasked with cooling down the hottest areas of Lynn, Massachusetts. With extreme heat on the rise, it's up to you to strategically allocate cooling resources—like trees, misting stations, and cooling centers—to reduce urban heat.”

“Each decision impacts the city's temperature, public spaces, and community well-being. With a limited budget, which solutions will you choose? Play, learn, and co-design a vision for a cooler, more resilient Lynn!”

  • Placing amenities on the extreme heat zones doubles the cooling effect.

  • A young participant and his father learning about the rules of our game.

  • We record the amenities chosen by players each game for analysis then share it with Lynn's Planning Dept.

  • Not every cooling amenity has the same effect! With only 10 "Lynn Bucks", players must be strategic.