Accidental Gods

What happens if we stop playing games that laud violence and give us brief dopamine hits for acts of destruction, and instead create, play and share games that build regenerative futures that help to rewire our brains and give us a feel for how community works? With Andrew Navaro of Earthborne Games. More at https://accidentalgods.life

Show Notes

The average child in the western world attends 10,000 hours of school - and plays 20,000 hours of games.  In the 'adult' world, many of us spend hours devoted to levelling up our characters and exploring imaginary worlds.  If the Tech-bros get their way, we'll soon live entirely in the Metaverse and have minimal contact with the real world beyond the walls of our concrete hutches.  

But imagine a different world: where the people of earth have come together to solve the multi-polar traps of the climate, ecological, sociological, economic and political crisis of our times. How might the world look in a couple of thousand years if we've made it through to the flourishing future we want for our descendants?  That's the premise of Earthborne Rangers, a tabletop card game that's the brainchild of Andrew Navaro, Founder and Creative Director of Earthborne Games, a company that 'creates breathtaking tabletop games that prioritize environmental sustainability in every aspect of their creation – from manufacturing to fulfillment. Every Earthborne product is made as sustainably as possible, with unparalleled transparency throughout the process. There’s a hopeful future on the horizon, one that reimagines our relationship with the Earth and the stories we tell on the gaming table, and we’re going to create it together. 


In this week's inspiring episode, we talk to Andrew about the game's genesis, about how where we set our energy defines where we go, and why it was important to him to create a game that fostered cohesion and community, sharing and exploring while still being fun and exciting to play.   As the game nears completion and launch, we talk about the Kickstarter campaign that funded it and the design challenges, as well as the deeply thought-through ethos of the world Andrew and his team have created.

As we head into the holidays, join us for a world of new ideas.


Order the game here https://earthbornegames.com/
The Rulebook https://earthbornegames.com/wp-content/uploads/EBR001_Rulebook_web.pdf
Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal https://uk.bookshop.org/books/reality-is-broken-why-games-make-us-better-and-how-they-can-change-the-world/9780099540281

What is Accidental Gods ?

Another World is still Possible. The old system was never fit for purpose and now it has gone- and it's never coming back.

We have the power of gods to destroy our home. But we also have the chance to become something we cannot yet imagine,
and by doing so, lay the foundations for a future we would be proud to leave to the generations yet unborn.

What happens if we commit to a world based on generative values: compassion, courage, integrity?

What happens if we let go of the race for meaningless money and commit instead to the things that matter: clean air, clean water, clean soil - and clean, clear, courageous connections between all parts of ourselves (so we have to do the inner work of healing individually and collectively), between ourselves and each other (so we have to do the outer work of relearning how to build generative communities) and between ourselves and the Web of Life (so we have to reclaim our birthright as conscious nodes in the web of life)?

We can do this - and every week on Accidental Gods we speak with the people who are living this world into being. We have all the answers, we just (so far) lack the visions and collective will to weave them into a future that works. We can make this happen. We will. Join us.

Accidental Gods is a podcast and membership program devoted to exploring the ways we can create a future that we would be proud to leave to the generations yet to come.

If we're going to emerge into a just, equitable - and above all regenerative - future, we need to get to know the people who are already living, working, thinking and believing at the leading edge of inter-becoming transformation.
Accidental Gods exists to bring these voices to the world so that we can work together to lay the foundations of a world we'd be proud to leave to the generations that come after us.
We have the choice now - we can choose to transform…or we can face the chaos of a failing system.
Our Choice. Our Chance. Our Future.

Find the membership and the podcast pages here: https://accidentalgods.life
Find Manda's Thrutopian novel, Any Human Power here: https://mandascott.co.uk
Find Manda on BlueSky @mandascott.bsky.social
On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandascottauthor/
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