New game allows pupils to be PM in pandemic

A NEW game for pupils lets teenagers take on the role of prime minister of a country during a global pandemic.

Trust The Experts, created by academics in Swansea University, allows students to put their decision-making and critical-thinking skills to the test in the real life scenario.

The game is aimed at 15- to 18-year-olds. Players start out as a newly elected prime minister of Aberdemic – a fictional European country – only to find out they are facing the onset of a deadly global pandemic.

Key decisions need to be made, such as whether to close the country’s borders and how best to communicate with its population, and players are given advice from a range of academics to guide their thinking.

Players see how their decisions affect a variety of metrics, including the nation’s happiness index, trust in the government and state of the country’s health. Like current world leaders, participants also have to contend with contradictory information from various sources.