Earth, clay, sod, dirt, soil – we have a plethora of words to talk about the ground beneath our feet. We know it’s a source of nutrients for plants, but have you ever wondered what it’s really like down there?
Game designer, soil ecologist, and current Biology Lecturer at Boston University, Max Helmberger, did. He teamed up with his co-designers and worker-owned game design co-op Cardboard Revolution to create his own dirt-based game, Loam: The Game of Soil Biodiversity. I caught up with him to talk about his current crowdfunding campaign (ends June 30!) for Loam, and to learn a little about soil conservation and biodiversity.
A game about … dirt?
Loam is a board game for 1-4 players, ages 10+, where you become a plant whose goal is to balance the soil around its roots. Each game consists of three hands, allowing for a short 10-15 minute play.
The reason for the short gameplay? “Loam was originally designed to be an educational game to be played in classrooms,” Helmberger says. “You generally don’t want it to be three hours and super complex, and you definitely want a more definitive endpoint.”
Don’t let the short play time fool you, though. Each round is packed with strategy, fun, and some of the cutest little clay critters you can imagine! And if you’re wondering, yes — I confirmed that all 84 of the creatures in Loam were handmade and photographed by Helmberger himself.
According to the Gamefound campaign site, gameplay is simple: you begin with a root zone health scorecard and place six creatures and three behavior cards on the table. You’ll draw your hand of three inputs and one creature card. From there, you simply build your soil!
This all sounded great, but I (not a soil ecologist) was already needing clarification, so I asked Helmberger for help.
“A lot of people think of plants being rooted in the soil. It’s what anchors them in place … they take up water and nutrients, but they don’t really interact with the soil around them. What soil ecologists are finding is that plants have the power to really affect the soil around them for their benefit. That includes the composition of the soil community — other organisms — around them.”
“The inputs in Loam represent the different chemicals that plants can secrete from their roots for different purposes. The creatures represent different soil animals and microbes. Each creature in Loam is categorized by one of six different types, and each adds specific soil stats to your root zone.
“These stats are known as structure, nutrient, and food web on your root health card. “Structure” is a measure of how porous and stable the soil is, physically. This is usually affected by those organisms that can dig or tunnel, and some microbes that can burrow. “Nutrients” is just what it sounds like, the availability of nutrients in the soil for take up. These are generally provided by decomposers. Then the food web; obviously everything in soil eats something and is eaten by something.”
Okay, but I came to win!
So, with all that in mind, I was curious about the points system. The person with the highest points in Loam wins, but this may be more challenging than it seems. While points do come from raising your stats, balance is the name of the game. Simply having the highest food web score or most creatures won’t give you the win.
Helmberger’s tip? “If you end the game with all three stats identical, [that] will get you 10 balance bonus points. You’re looking for the most creature types in your community. You can raise the level of your creatures and pick up matching behavior cards to give you an extra edge, but you may not be able to balance out enough to balance out in the end.” In other words, you need to keep a broad overview and strategize.
Speaking of winning, Loam has already been completely funded and the numbers are still climbing! We took a few minutes to chat about the stretch goals, extras, and the importance of soil biodiversity.
A little game, a lot to take away
The first Loam stretch goal, “Urbanization and Research Campaigns,” has the player act as if they’re trying to find balance in an urban area or a research facility. “Signals,” the second stretch goal, Helmberger says, “…allow you to interact with other players around the table. They make the game much more interactive.” The third stretch goal is “Climates,” which would challenge the player with different soil requirements.
If you’d like to check it out in advance, Loam is currently up and running on Screentop.gg. It’s also worth mentioning that the solo mode has four challenges to try, as well as an Agriculture Campaign to give players a whole new challenge. Don’t forget to grab an adorable bug sticker page!
After all this, you may still be asking, “Why a game about dirt?” Helmberger has answers.
“Soil is literally and figuratively the base of human civilization. We very much depend on soil; we wouldn’t be able to sustain our civilization without it … at least not as it is. I would like people to understand that the dirt beneath their feet is not just inert, dead, dirty material. It’s a thriving ecosystem no less complex, probably even more complex, than what they see above ground. We don’t always realize or appreciate what it does for us, and it’s under threat in a lot of ways, ways that individuals do have some ability to help address. It’s easier for someone to have an impact on conserving soil in their backyard than it is for one person to make a dent in carbon emissions.”
Go check out the Gamefound page for Loam: The Game of Soil Biodiversity, and get funding in for your preorder quick; you only have until Friday to join the campaign and grab all the bonuses! And check out Cardboard Revolution on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. While you’re hanging out online, join the Loam crew on Discord and check them out on BoardGameGeek.
AIPT Science is co-presented by AIPT and the New York City Skeptics.
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