EMCE: City Blackout
Collaborate under pressure. Balance response and mitigation.
EMCE: Hurricane
Anticipate the storm. Allocate resources. Coordinate.
* EMCE: Hurricane can play multiple groups concurrently
EMCE Game Framework
Deciding how to allocate resources during an emergency is challenging. Emergency Management Cascading Effects (EMCE) games place players in fast-moving crisis scenarios where they must allocate resources quickly between preparedness and incident response, adapt to shifting conditions, and collaborate under time constraints.
This game framework can be used for other emergency scenarios, beyond the current City Blackout and Hurricane versions. If you are interested in working with CAPTRS on a new version of EMCE, please contact us.
Description
When a storm strikes, decisions must be made quickly amid uncertainty. Emergency Management Cascading Effects (EMCE): Hurricane is a collaborative and realistic simulation game that challenges players to contain the effects of a hurricane. When a hurricane is forecasted, the leaders in a region or territory must make numerous time-critical decisions related to sheltering, preparedness, damage mitigation, resource planning and allocation, and coordination with neighboring jurisdictions. As forecasts and impact models continually shift, players make decisions and experience the impact of their decisions.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the critical value of preparedness and mitigation
- Practice strategic resource allocation and planning
- Improve decision-making under urgency
- Understand and plan for cascading effects during emergencies
- Improve multi-jurisdiction coordination skills
Game Details
This game unfolds over multiple rounds.
Preparation: Players make decisions as the hurricane approaches, accounting for uncertainty around where it will make landfall and its potential severity. Players determine how to prepare their jurisdictions ahead of impact.
Response: After landfall, players decide how to respond within their own jurisdictions and whether to assist neighboring jurisdictions. As the hurricane moves inland, players continue to manage limited resources by training staff, mitigating damage, providing shelter, and making ongoing decisions about supporting others.
Review: Once the hurricane has passed, players visualize the effects of the storm on their own and neighboring jurisdictions. Outcomes reflect the cumulative impact of their decisions, coordination, and planning under uncertainty—either exacerbating damage or helping to mitigate it. The goal is efficient use of resources to cover as many threats as possible.
Completion Time: 60–90 minutes- Number of Players: Groups of 4–8 per group; multiple groups may play simultaneously
What's Included & Customization
Each game of EMCE: Hurricane includes:
Elements of this game may be customized, including:
- The city game map. We can map game elements to mirror your city territory. (The game is an abstracted representation of a city.)
- Specific city elements or locations. Individual hexes on the game map can represent unique or important elements or locations.
- Events on cards.
* For all customization requests, CAPTRS requires a discovery call with our team. We will then provide a bid of costs associated with the customization.
Develop a Custom Game
Partner with CAPTRS to design a research-driven simulation game tailored to your organization's needs.