NEUTRALPATH

Funding programme

Horizon Europe – EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities

Project reference

101096753

Period

2023–2027

Coordinating organisation

Fundación CARTIF (Spain)

Participating countries

Spain, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Türkiye, and other consortium countries

Official project website

Visit official website

NEUTRALPATH (Pathway towards Climate-Neutrality through low risky and fully replicable Positive Clean Energy Districts) aims to accelerate the transformation of European cities towards climate neutrality through the development of Positive Clean Energy Districts (PCEDs), technological innovation and citizen participation.

Within this wider initiative, the project developed Energize, an original educational board game designed to introduce citizens to energy efficiency, sustainable urban living and the relationship between individual decisions and neighbourhood energy consumption.

The game translates complex energy concepts into accessible decision-making activities for children, young people, families and adults.

Specific learning objectives

• Energy literacy: Develop a basic understanding of how energy is consumed in buildings, homes and urban neighbourhoods.
• Energy efficiency: Recognise opportunities to reduce energy consumption through technological improvements and everyday decisions.
• Positive Energy Districts: Introduce the concept of neighbourhoods designed to improve energy performance and support the transition towards climate neutrality.
• Building renovation: Understand the potential contribution of building retrofitting and insulation to reducing energy demand.
• Efficient technologies: Explore how energy-efficient appliances and other technological solutions influence household and neighbourhood consumption.
• Sustainable mobility: Consider the potential contribution of electric mobility and alternative transport choices to urban sustainability.
• Behavioural change: Recognise how everyday habits can influence energy consumption.
• Environmental awareness: Increase understanding of the relationship between energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
• Investment decisions: Explore the consequences of selecting different products, services and energy-related improvements.
• Resource prioritisation: Encourage participants to consider which actions may be most useful for improving the energy performance of a district.
• Community awareness: Understand the importance of educational initiatives and public awareness campaigns in promoting sustainable practices.
• Citizen participation: Encourage residents to become active participants in local energy transition processes.
• Decision-making: Develop awareness of how different choices influence progress towards a common environmental objective.
• Systems thinking: Recognise that neighbourhood energy performance depends on technological, behavioural and community-level factors.
• Critical reflection: Encourage discussion about how actions represented in the game relate to real energy challenges.
• Intergenerational learning: Facilitate accessible discussions about sustainability among participants of different ages.
• Community engagement: Use playful learning to reduce barriers to participation in technically complex urban transformation projects.

Relationship with NEUTRALPATH objectives

The game supports the project’s wider citizen engagement strategy, implemented through Climate-Neutral Labs in Zaragoza, Dresden, Istanbul, Ghent and Vantaa.

Its principal educational contribution is to make neighbourhood energy decisions more understandable and to encourage discussion about sustainable urban development.

The objectives should be understood as intended learning outcomes. The reviewed documentation does not establish independently measured improvements in energy knowledge, attitudes or behaviour attributable specifically to gameplay.

NEUTRALPATH developed an original physical educational board game called Energize – An Educational Game about Positive Energy Districts.

The game was developed by Three o’clock in collaboration with other members of the NEUTRALPATH consortium and co-created through the project’s five European Climate-Neutral Labs.

Its purpose is to help citizens understand how investments, technologies, everyday behaviours and awareness activities can influence energy consumption at neighbourhood level.

1. Energize – An Educational Game about Positive Energy Districts

In Energize, each player manages a fictional urban district and attempts to reduce its energy consumption through a combination of technological and behavioural decisions.

Participants explore alternative investments, energy-efficient products, services and awareness initiatives while progressing towards a simplified sustainability objective.

Documented game characteristics

• Game type: Custom-designed educational board game.
• Format: Physical tabletop board game with several categories of cards.
• Players: 2–4.
• Recommended age: 8 years and above.
• Playing time: Not independently verified.
• Educational theme: Energy efficiency, sustainable neighbourhoods and climate-neutral urban development.
• Game setting: Each participant manages an urban district.
• Game objective: Become the first player to reduce the energy consumption of their district to zero within the simplified game model.
• Development: Three o’clock, in collaboration with the NEUTRALPATH consortium.
• Public presentation: 2025.
• Production: 200 physical game units reported by CORDIS.
• Language availability: Multilingual; the project reports six language editions, although its published lists are inconsistent.

Four documented card categories

1. Product Cards

Represent products or investments that can contribute to reducing energy consumption or improving efficiency.

The educational purpose is to introduce the relationship between technological choices and energy performance.

2. Education Cards

Represent educational initiatives and awareness activities intended to encourage more sustainable energy practices.

These cards highlight the role of information, community engagement and public awareness in the energy transition.

3. Behaviour Cards

Represent everyday decisions and habits that influence energy use.

They provide opportunities to explore how individual behaviour contributes to neighbourhood-level sustainability.

4. Chance Cards

Introduce an element of uncertainty and variation into gameplay.

The publicly available game description identifies this category, but does not provide sufficient information to establish the exact effects of individual Chance Cards.

Main game mechanisms

1. District management: Each player is responsible for improving the energy performance of a fictional neighbourhood.
2. Investment decisions: Players select products and services intended to contribute to reducing energy use.
3. Card-based actions: Four categories of cards introduce technological, educational, behavioural and chance-related events or decisions.
4. Energy consumption reduction: The overall objective is to progressively reduce district energy consumption.
5. Strategic prioritisation: Participants consider different possible actions to advance towards the game’s environmental target.
6. Competitive progression: Players compete to become the first to reach the game’s zero-consumption target.
7. Educational simulation: In-game actions provide simplified representations of real energy efficiency measures.

Educational content

The game addresses several practical sustainability themes:

• Building retrofitting and energy renovation.
• Energy-efficient household appliances.
• Electric mobility.
• Energy-saving habits.
• Community awareness activities.
• Sustainable neighbourhood development.

Game design and production

The project states that Energize was developed collaboratively with its five European Climate-Neutral Labs, connecting the educational content with real challenges encountered by the participating cities.

According to the European Commission’s CORDIS periodic reporting, 200 certified physical units were produced and deployed in six languages.

The project website documents the use of the game in public engagement activities in Istanbul, Dresden and Zaragoza.

Physical game components

Official photographs establish the existence of a printed game board, card decks and boxed physical copies.

However, the exact number of cards, other components, detailed scoring procedures and complete turn sequence cannot be established without examining the full rulebook.

Game availability

The project provides an official information sheet describing the game and illustrating its physical components.

Energize – Official Game Information Sheet (PDF)

Energize – Zenodo Repository

The publicly accessible Zenodo record contains the official information sheet rather than a complete print-and-play package.

Interested educators and organisations can contact the developer at hello@threeoclock.co to enquire about physical copies, rules and conditions of educational reuse.

Game approach

The appropriate classification is Custom-Designed Educational Games.

Energize was developed specifically for NEUTRALPATH rather than adapted from an existing commercial board game.

NEUTRALPATH uses Energize as an educational and citizen engagement tool within its broader strategy for developing Positive Clean Energy Districts through participatory approaches.

The game’s methodology combines simplified neighbourhood management, card-based decision-making, sustainability education and informal learning through play.

Its purpose is to make complex energy transition concepts understandable to non-specialist audiences and encourage interest in local climate-neutrality initiatives.

Pedagogical foundations

• Game-Based Learning: Participants explore energy-related concepts through decisions and consequences within a physical game.
• Experiential learning: Players encounter simplified sustainability challenges by managing the energy performance of a fictional neighbourhood.
• Decision-based learning: Different choices involving technology, services, awareness and behaviour influence progress towards the game’s objective.
• Environmental education: The game introduces practical concepts concerning energy efficiency and climate-neutral urban development.
• Systems awareness: Participants encounter relationships between household decisions, community initiatives and wider neighbourhood performance.
• Playful citizen engagement: Games provide an accessible introduction to complex technical topics and may encourage participation in subsequent discussions.
• Community-based education: Energize is incorporated into the project’s Climate-Neutral Labs and public engagement events.

Development and co-creation

Three o’clock developed Energize in collaboration with the NEUTRALPATH consortium and its five city-based Climate-Neutral Labs.

These labs bring together citizens, municipalities, researchers, technology providers and other stakeholders to support the development of local climate-neutrality strategies.

The game was conceived as an accessible educational instrument capable of introducing the project’s technical themes through familiar choices and interactive participation.

Educational game structure

The official game information establishes the following core learning activities:

1. District management: Participants take responsibility for the energy performance of a fictional neighbourhood.
2. Exploration of possible actions: Different categories of cards introduce products, education, behavioural choices and chance events.
3. Investment and action selection: Players choose measures intended to reduce energy consumption.
4. Progress towards an objective: In-game decisions contribute to the simplified target of reducing district energy consumption to zero.
5. Competitive interaction: Players attempt to reach the target before their opponents.

This structure is based on the official game descriptions. The complete sequence of turns, individual card effects and scoring procedures have not been independently verified.

Integration into citizen engagement activities

Energize has been used as part of NEUTRALPATH’s public engagement strategy, alongside demonstrations, workshops, interactive digital information tools and local discussions.

Its educational value derives partly from its use as an accessible introduction to real technological measures and urban energy challenges addressed by the project.

In Zaragoza, the game was introduced to residents of the Actur neighbourhood, where NEUTRALPATH is implementing its local Positive Clean Energy District.

In Dresden and Istanbul, it was used to facilitate public awareness and engagement with energy transition topics.

Role of facilitators

Project representatives and event organisers introduce the game and support participation during public activities.

They may also connect the simulated choices with the actual energy technologies, building improvements and community initiatives being demonstrated by NEUTRALPATH.

However, the available public documentation does not establish a standardised facilitator training programme or a complete game-specific facilitation manual.

Reflection and debriefing

The game creates opportunities to discuss how technological and behavioural decisions influence energy consumption.

Nevertheless, a formally documented post-game debriefing protocol has not been identified.

For educational replication, a facilitated discussion would be particularly valuable for distinguishing the simplified game objective from the real technical meaning of a Positive Energy District.

Methodological transferability

Energize illustrates how physical board games can be integrated into public engagement activities addressing complex environmental and technological issues.

The format is potentially adaptable to schools, science communication events, sustainability workshops and community education.

However, wider independent replication currently requires access to the complete physical game, rules and applicable reuse conditions.

NEUTRALPATH is being implemented from January 2023 to December 2027 as a Horizon Europe Innovation Action coordinated by Fundación CARTIF in Spain.

The project involves a multidisciplinary European consortium working on technological innovation, urban energy renovation, participatory governance and the development of Positive Clean Energy Districts.

Energize forms part of the project’s educational and citizen engagement activities.

Project organisation

• Fundación CARTIF (Spain): Overall project coordination.
• Three o’clock (France): Development of Energize and leadership of citizen engagement and participatory governance activities.
• NEUTRALPATH city partners: Local implementation and citizen engagement in Zaragoza, Dresden, Istanbul, Ghent and Vantaa.
• Consortium partners: Contributions to technical content, co-creation and dissemination.

Project implementation contexts

The two lighthouse cities are Zaragoza, Spain, and Dresden, Germany.

Three additional fellow cities—Ghent, Belgium; Istanbul, Türkiye; and Vantaa, Finland—participate in the development and replication of Positive Clean Energy District strategies.

Climate-Neutral Labs established in the five cities provide opportunities for citizens and stakeholders to participate in project activities.

Development and implementation of Energize

1. Participatory development: Three o’clock designed the educational board game in collaboration with consortium partners and the five city-based labs.
2. Physical production: The game was manufactured in boxed form and prepared for multilingual use.
3. 2025 – Public presentation: NEUTRALPATH introduced Energize as an educational game supporting citizen engagement with sustainable neighbourhoods.
4. 2025 – Istanbul: The game was used in activities involving families and young people, introducing how everyday habits influence urban energy consumption.
5. 2025 – Dresden: Energize was used in community workshops and science engagement activities addressing sustainable urban development.
6. 2025 – Zaragoza: The game was incorporated into a public Open Day involving residents of the Actur neighbourhood.
7. 2026 – Dresden: The game was presented again during Dresden Science Night, with the Institute of Building Climatology at TU Dresden documenting its use.
8. 2026 – Continued dissemination: The project continued to promote Energize as part of its wider participatory toolkit and urban engagement strategy.

Production evidence

The European Commission’s CORDIS periodic report states that NEUTRALPATH produced and deployed 200 certified physical units of Energize in six languages.

This confirms the existence of a manufactured educational resource distributed for project activities.

However, this figure refers to game units rather than individual participants or completed educational sessions.

Evidence of public participation

The project reports the use of the game with families, young people and adult residents in several cities.

A cross-project research publication from 2026 also discusses the use of Energize and other participatory tools in NEUTRALPATH’s Climate-Neutral Labs.

The publication identifies approximately 150 participants at a Zaragoza Open Day, but this figure refers to the wider engagement event rather than exclusively to individuals who played Energize.

Evaluation approach

NEUTRALPATH monitors citizen participation, social acceptance and other aspects of the wider development of Positive Clean Energy Districts.

The project’s Climate-Neutral Labs incorporate surveys, workshops and participatory feedback mechanisms.

However, these wider evaluation activities should not automatically be considered evaluations of the educational board game.

Game-specific evaluation limitations

The reviewed documentation does not establish:

• A consolidated number of participants who played Energize.
• The number of completed game sessions across the consortium.
• A standardised assessment of energy knowledge before and after gameplay.
• Validated measures of changes in environmental attitudes.
• Evidence that gameplay produced measurable behavioural changes.
• A comparison with conventional energy awareness activities.
• Long-term learning retention or engagement attributable specifically to the game.
• A systematic evaluation of differences between language versions or participant age groups.

Related scientific research

A 2026 research article published in Open Research Europe compared citizen engagement approaches across nine European Positive Energy District projects, including NEUTRALPATH.

The article discusses the contribution of participatory tools, including Energize, to making technically complex urban energy concepts more accessible.

However, the publication does not provide a controlled educational effectiveness evaluation of Energize as an independent intervention.

Overall evaluation status

NEUTRALPATH provides credible evidence of the development, manufacturing and public implementation of Energize.

Its educational impact remains insufficiently evaluated through game-specific quantitative outcome measures.

The project should therefore be classified as an implemented educational board-game initiative with documented public engagement but without independently demonstrated learning gains.

NEUTRALPATH provides educational, communication and participatory resources designed to support citizen engagement with Positive Clean Energy Districts and urban climate neutrality.

The main Board Game-Based Learning resource is Energize, an original physical board game developed by Three o’clock and the project consortium.

1. Energize – Educational Board Game

Energize is designed for two to four players aged eight years and above.

Participants manage fictional neighbourhoods and use different categories of cards to reduce energy consumption through investments, awareness activities and behavioural changes.

The game has been produced in boxed physical form and deployed in European community engagement events.

Energize – Official Game Presentation

Availability: Physical copies have been produced, but a complete print-and-play package and public rulebook have not been identified.

2. Energize – Official Game Information Sheet

The project provides a downloadable information sheet presenting the game’s educational purpose, target audience, objective, four card categories and photographs of its physical components.

The document is particularly useful for understanding the game’s basic educational design.

Energize – Official Information Sheet (PDF)

3. Energize – Zenodo Repository

Three o’clock deposited an open-access record of Energize in Zenodo, associated with the NEUTRALPATH Horizon Europe grant.

The record identifies the game as an educational resource addressing energy consumption, energy efficiency and sustainability.

The downloadable document is an information sheet, not the complete set of physical components and rules.

Energize – Zenodo Record and Official Information Sheet

4. NEUTRALPATH Climate-Neutral Labs

The project established five Climate-Neutral Labs to support citizen engagement, collaborative design and the development of local energy transition strategies.

These labs provide the wider educational and participatory context within which Energize is used.

NEUTRALPATH – Project Approach and Climate-Neutral Labs

5. Digital Interactive Totems

NEUTRALPATH developed complementary interactive digital information tools presenting 3D urban visualisations, energy technologies and educational diagrams.

These tools are used alongside other citizen engagement activities and help communicate the technological aspects of the local energy transition.

They should be considered complementary communication resources rather than physical board games.

Three o’clock – NEUTRALPATH Citizen Engagement Tools

6. Research on Citizen Participation in Positive Energy Districts

A 2026 research article compares citizen engagement approaches across nine European Positive Energy District projects.

It discusses NEUTRALPATH’s Climate-Neutral Labs and identifies the Energize game as part of its participatory toolkit.

Citizen-centric Pathways to Positive Energy Districts: Lessons from European PED Projects (2026)

7. NEUTRALPATH Project Results

The European Commission’s CORDIS reporting provides official information about the project’s implementation, educational engagement tools and production of the multilingual board game.

NEUTRALPATH – CORDIS Project Reporting

Resource accessibility and reuse

The project website, game information sheet and Zenodo record are publicly accessible.

However, full educational reuse is currently limited by the absence of a verified downloadable game kit and complete rules.

The publicly accessible information does not establish a specific open licence covering the complete physical game.

Interested educators and researchers can contact Three o’clock at hello@threeoclock.co to enquire about obtaining game materials and their conditions of use.

Replicability

The available documentation is sufficient to identify the game’s educational purpose and principal categories of decisions.

It is not sufficient to reproduce the complete game independently without obtaining the rulebook and physical or printable components.

NEUTRALPATH is relevant to the European Board Game-Based Learning Observatory because it developed and implemented an original physical board game as an educational instrument for citizen engagement in urban energy transition.

Its main methodological contribution lies in translating complex technological and environmental concepts into accessible decisions involving investments, everyday behaviour and community awareness.

Energize illustrates how educational board games can be integrated into wider participatory projects as tools for introducing citizens to sustainability challenges.

Methodological strengths

1. Original physical game: Energize is a completed and manufactured board game with documented physical components and publicly described learning objectives.
2. Accessible target audience: The game is designed for participants aged eight and above, supporting potential use with different generations.
3. Contextualised environmental learning: The game’s neighbourhood setting connects energy efficiency with recognisable everyday decisions.
4. Decision-based interaction: Participants select products, services and behavioural measures, introducing an active dimension to sustainability education.
5. Integration of technological and behavioural factors: The game recognises that urban energy transition depends on both infrastructure and human behaviour.
6. Community awareness: Education Cards explicitly represent the importance of raising awareness and encouraging sustainable practices.
7. Participatory development: The game was co-created through the project’s five European Climate-Neutral Labs.
8. Multilingual dissemination: The production of several language editions supports application in different European communities.
9. Documented implementation: The game has been used in public engagement events involving residents, families and young people.
10. Physical production: The reported manufacture and deployment of 200 game units demonstrate progression beyond the prototype stage.
11. Connection with real interventions: The game can be presented alongside actual building renovation, energy efficiency and urban sustainability initiatives being developed by NEUTRALPATH.

Methodological limitations and considerations

1. Complementary role within the project: Board Game-Based Learning is an important citizen engagement component, but not the central methodology of the wider technological innovation project.
2. Limited public documentation of rules: The complete turn sequence, individual card effects, scoring procedures and standard playing time have not been independently verified.
3. Restricted game accessibility: Physical copies exist, but complete printable materials and rules are not publicly available through the identified resources.
4. Simplified energy objective: The game’s zero-energy-consumption victory condition does not directly represent the real technical definition of a Positive Energy District.
5. Unverified mechanic-learning correspondence: Without the full rules, it is difficult to determine how accurately individual card effects represent real energy savings or investment trade-offs.
6. Limited outcome evaluation: The public documentation does not establish measured improvements in participants’ energy literacy or environmental competences.
7. Unclear reflection procedures: A formal post-game debriefing protocol has not been identified.
8. Participation versus learning: Attendance at public engagement events should not be interpreted as evidence of educational effectiveness.
9. Limited behavioural evidence: There is no game-specific evidence demonstrating that participation produces sustained changes in household energy behaviour.
10. Language-version inconsistencies: The project reports six editions, but its published lists of available and planned languages are not fully consistent.

Connection with modern Board Game-Based Learning

Energize belongs to the category of custom-designed educational board games rather than adapted commercial board games.

Its documented design combines district management with card-based technological, educational and behavioural actions.

This structure offers opportunities to connect game decisions with practical environmental measures, such as improving building efficiency, selecting energy-saving technologies and promoting sustainable habits.

However, the precise relationship between the cards and the reduction of energy consumption cannot be fully assessed without examining the complete rules.

The available evidence therefore supports identifying the intended educational integration but does not justify claims about the complexity or effectiveness of its underlying decision system.

Educational simulation and simplification

A particularly important methodological consideration concerns the game’s central objective of reducing district energy consumption to zero.

In real Positive Energy Districts, the aim is not necessarily to eliminate energy consumption, but to achieve an appropriate energy balance through efficiency, renewable generation and integrated energy systems.

The game uses a simplified objective to provide a clear competitive challenge.

This simplification may support accessibility, but educators should explain the difference between the game’s victory condition and real urban energy performance.

Board games as citizen engagement tools

Unlike projects that develop board games as standalone educational products, NEUTRALPATH integrates Energize into wider public engagement and urban innovation activities.

This distinction is methodologically significant.

The game provides an accessible introduction to energy concepts, while demonstrations, community workshops and local project information connect the experience with actual interventions.

Consequently, the educational contribution of the game may depend partly on the quality of its integration with these complementary activities.

Implications for future BGBL initiatives

NEUTRALPATH suggests several considerations for the design and implementation of environmental educational games:

• Use familiar neighbourhood contexts to introduce complex energy systems.
• Represent technological and behavioural actions as complementary dimensions of sustainability.
• Align game rewards and progress indicators with scientifically meaningful environmental concepts.
• Use simplified objectives without creating misleading interpretations of real technical processes.
• Integrate gameplay with real projects, demonstrations and community discussions.
• Design activities that allow children, young people and adults to participate together.
• Provide complete multilingual rulebooks and printable materials to support educational replication.
• Include structured post-game reflection connecting decisions with real energy challenges.
• Evaluate actual knowledge acquisition rather than relying exclusively on event attendance or participant satisfaction.
• Examine whether playful citizen engagement contributes to sustained participation and changes in everyday behaviour.

Overall assessment

NEUTRALPATH provides a documented example of an original educational board game developed and implemented as part of a European urban sustainability initiative.

Its main strengths are its accessible thematic approach, physical production, multilingual dissemination and integration into real citizen engagement activities.

The project provides credible evidence that the game exists and has been used, but its complete rules, independent replicability and specific educational effectiveness remain insufficiently documented.

For the European BGBL Observatory, NEUTRALPATH is particularly relevant as a case study of how physical board games can help communicate technically complex sustainability topics within wider community participation programmes.