Mayor of Bayville

This online game allowed Bay Area residents to prioritize their top concerns, explore financial constraints, and weigh in on Plan Bay Area 2050’s strategies.

Available in English, Spanish and traditional Chinese, the game uses colorful graphics and a sense of humor to put players in a position of power. Players pretend they are leading a fictional Bay Area city, and they must listen to constituents and make tough choices about where to spend money.

With a budget of 100 “coins” for each of the four topic areas, participants choose one strategy to address each challenge. Ultimately, players create a plan for investments and policies related to transportation, housing, the environment and the economy for the city through the year 2050, taking around five minutes per topic area to weigh in. An open-ended question also allows participants to suggest other strategies and provide any other feedback.

New routes for bicycles and pedestrians, denser housing near transit stops, and more frequent and reliable train service were the top three strategies chosen by more than 3,100 people who played the game from November-December 2019. The game is still available to play online, though the results are no longer monitored.

Play the game online.

To learn more about the Mayor of Bayville game or to discuss its relevance to your organization’s scenario planning process, please contact Raleigh McCoy at rmccoy@bayareametro.gov