Hanging out on Twitter this morning someone tweeted about a new online game they’d found called Energyville. In it you are the all powerful entity that makes energy choices for a company and determines just how it will be powered. Almost any type of energy is available, and you’re rated on the economic, environmental, and security impacts of your decisions. You play in the present, and again in 2015. Random events such as terrorists attacks, droughts, or storms at sea affect the supply of certain kinds of energy.

Being sponsored by the energy company Chevron, there are, understandably, some issues of bias. Yet this remains an intriguing introduction to the choices made when we use power. Whether solar power, gasoline, or hydro power, there are costs involved in these decisions and I think this game does a decent job of reflecting that. It should prove as an interesting jumping off point for a discussion on energy use, environmentalism and stewardship.

If you team Energyville with a few rounds of ElectroCity you might have a great class period. In ElectroCity you also need to keep your city powered, but this simulation offers fewer types of electricity but more of other things like building, powering and paying for city amenities like farms, camp grounds, docks or ski hills. Between the two these sims you’ve got a great start for thought provoking class discusion.