An interactive game, developed by the Horizon 2020 REST-COAST project, places the users at the heart of large-scale coastal decision-making.

Coastal Challenge is a new serious video game developed within the EU-funded REST-COAST project to support climate adaptation decision-making in coastal areas. Available through the REST-COAST project website, the game offers an interactive and accessible platform for exploring how one’s choices shape the future resilience of coastal systems.

Designed as an interactive learning and exploration tool, the game allows users to test long-term adaptation paths and understand trade-offs between ecological, social and economic objectives. Built around real challenges observed across REST-COAST pilot sites, it draws on scenarios and response options that reflect methods being implemented within the project. The game places the user in the role of a coastal decision-maker responsible for managing one of three distinct coastal settings: a commercial port city, a small tourist and fishing town, or a coastal wetland farming area. Across a simulated 30-year time horizon, players must respond to evolving climate pressures while balancing competing priorities and limited resources.

Coastal Challenge was created to address the increasing demand for accessible, science-based tools. Every choice in the game reveals something about coastal climate risk and the trade-offs behind adaptation decisions. Rooted in practical science and scenarios, it allows users to compare pathways across environmental, social and economic priorities, encouraging reflection on the planning and governance decisions that shape long-term coastal stability.

Players can experiment with a wide range of adaptation options, from nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration to more traditional engineering measures, including seawalls. As outcomes develop over time, participants can observe how short-term decisions affect long-term resilience and how specific strategies may guide coastal systems closer to critical tipping points.

Coastal Challenge is designed to benefit a broad audience. For policymakers and planners, it provides a space to reflect on long-term trade-offs and the consequences of different pathways. For researchers and practitioners, it enables scenario-based exploration of adaptation options and supports discussion of strategies and outcomes. As for students and wider audiences, it offers an accessible way to learn about coastal climate risks and decision-making under uncertainty.

The game is now open for anyone interested in exploring how various choices can influence coastal resilience over time. Play the game here.

This project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Innovation Action under grant agreement No 101037097.