Students develop a game to promote fair debates

A student studying to become a teacher and a philosophy student at the University of Stuttgart want to improve the culture of debate. To this end, they developed ‘Realtopia’, a game in which high school students travel to Mars in the year 2633 and must resolve a conflict over a valuable natural resource. By playing the game, they learn to see things from different perspectives, discuss issues as equals, and find solutions together. The game developers are supported by Prof. André Bächtiger, a democracy researcher at the University of Stuttgart.

Mars in the year 2633: A sensational discovery causes a stir. The Martians discover Marsium, an unexplored raw material with promising properties in medicine and other fields, and everyone is determined to claim it for themselves. In ‘Realtopia’, players engage in a democratically led debate over how to handle this coveted yet controversial natural resource. In the process, they take on the roles of the Martian government, mining companies, scientific activists on Mars, the opposition party, and the people of Earth. The game ends only once the players arrive at a solution that everyone can accept.

‘Realtopia’ was developed by Nadja Hieber, a teacher trainee, and Robin Büttner, a philosophy student. “We want students to learn how to debate fairly, consider different perspectives, and find solutions together by playing the game,” say Hieber and Büttner.

The two have already received support for their project from the Stuttgart Change Labs and André Bächtiger, a professor and democracy researcher at the University of Stuttgart. “Our culture of debate is increasingly being undermined by disinformation and polarization. We spend too much time and energy defending and attacking different viewpoints and, in the process, lose sight of consensus. With ‘Realtopia’, Nadja and Robin are helping shape how we want to—and should—conduct democratic debates,” says Bächtiger.

Nadja Hieber and Robin Büttner have already tested how well the concept works with a class at a high school in Stuttgart. “At first, the teachers were skeptical about how the class would respond, but everyone engaged with the game right away,” says Robin Büttner.

The game is carefully structured to allow students to explore a wide range of discussion formats and strategies while engaging fully in the debate. “Before the game begins, the students are given time to become familiar with their roles. They consider what arguments the other groups might present and how they can respond to them,” says Robin Büttner. Event cards add another dynamic element to the game: For example, they can break up alliances, provoke conflicts, or encourage greater empathy.

“The students loved the game,” says Nadja Hieber. Another workshop with a high school class has already been scheduled for the coming school year.

The game structure and the rules for fair debate are based on social science publications, including André Bächtiger’s research on collaborative and competitive debate modes: Collaborative debates facilitate the joint search for solutions but often lack critical scrutiny of the arguments. By contrast, competitive debates bring different positions and contradictions to light but carry the risk that defending one’s own position becomes more important than reaching consensus.

“André Bächtiger’s paper shows that it can be useful to combine both modes. And that’s exactly what we do in ‘Realtopia’. The students learn how to discuss issues with one another, listen to each other, and strategically bring together different perspectives to find a solution,” says Nadja Hieber. In this way, they discover that they can improve both the quality of the solution and their satisfaction with it.

Nadja Hieber and Robin Büttner developed the idea for ‘Realtopia’ together with two fellow students as part of the School for Talents annual program in 2023. They are now continuing the project on their own alongside their studies. The two recently secured internal funding from the University of Stuttgart [de] to further develop ‘Realtopia’ in collaboration with André Bächtiger and philosopher Dr. Krystina Schaub. “We want to conduct a study to examine how effective our methods are in promoting an ideal debate process,” says Robin Büttner. “Our dream is for ‘Realtopia’ to become an integral part of classroom instruction and to benefit as many people as possible,” says Nadja Hieber.

Stuttgart Change Labs support projects carried out by student and lecturers
Stuttgart Change Labs [de] support interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teaching and learning projects that contribute to a sustainable and equal development of society and take a creative approach. Students and/or lecturers at the University of Stuttgart can apply for funding of up to 1,500 euros per project. The deadline for submissions for the upcoming funding is September 20, 2026.