The challenge

Pandemic influenza (sometimes called "panflu") is considered one of the most difficult global threats.

One of the difficulties is how to work together. The WHO appeals to member states because it's an aggregate of them. But other than through recommendations and paper plans, and the repetition of "we're not ready", there doesn't seem to be a mechanism for global, deep, fast cooperation, of the kind that is needed both for preparation and response.

Maybe taking it as a game would provide some useful insights?

Let's say the world population is 7000 times a million people. What if each gamer, or team, looks at "their million" and makes sure they are able to do NPI (non pharmaceutical interventions, such as timely and appropriate school closure, etc) and supplies of vital goods and services (such as described in http://www.resiliencemaps.org which btw has a specific panflu proposal for your evaluation)?

We win if and only more and more of us, and eventually all humans, win.

Say the virus starts off with really nasty fangs: "I can kill 5% of those I infect, and I can infect 30% of you all". (1% and 30% might be "bad enough". These figures are used because the biology says it's possible, and for clarity.)

"Oh, and btw", continues the virus, "I will kill both directly (flu) and indirectly (disruption of essential (vital, needed to stay alive) goods and services. Say, trade of stuff needed to make insulin or antibiotics... Or food, etc."

Say we then collectively decide "hey, no, less than 0.5% and less than 10%, and we'll lower disruption to a tenth of what it could be", and then help each other do just that. Is that, to use Jane McGonigal's book "Reality is broken" phrase, *epic* enough?

Our challenge here, of course, is to design that game. And so it begins...

Game design requirements

Variety of participants. All must get to have solid knowledge, including the known unknowns.

Game should give us all insights even if not many play. Better with 15 million, of course!

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References

WHO, CDC, ECDC, Mike Coston and Smithsonian videos, etc...