Materials

• 1 set of directions for each group
• 6 game pieces
• 6 species population cards
• 64 playing cards
• 15 danger cards
• 1 game board (printed in color)

Goal

The goal of Population Shuffle is to introduce students to the concepts of balance and flux in ecosystems.

Getting Started

• The game board can be printed as an 8.5" x 11" (Version 1) or an 11" x 17" (Version 2) sheet, depending on your needs and printer availability. Laminating the board will make it last longer.
• Prepare the species cards by cutting them out. Laminate if possible.
• Prepare the playing cards and danger cards by printing them back-to-back or cutting them out if you already have a hard copy. Laminate if possible.
• Prepare the game pieces by cutting them out. They will work better if mounted on a heavier paper, card stock, or cardboard.
• Split your students into groups of six, or have six students work on this as a separate activity. Each group needs one board, one set of directions, one set of questions, and one set each of game pieces, species cards, playing cards, and danger cards.

Playing the Game

See the Directions for instruction on how to play the game and strategy questions to consider while playing.

Follow-up Questions for Class Discussion

1. Did it seem easy or hard to stay in the 'safe population zone'? Do you think that's true for a real ecosystem too?
2. How were the "danger zones" different from the rest of the board?
3. Are there any events that you can think of in an ecosystem that would affect one species, but not the other species connected to it? List a few.
4. Did any of the cards seem like they would not have the same result in a real ecosystem? Make a list of them. Why wouldn't these happen? How could you rewrite them so that they would?