Eco Games Foundation has launched the Ghana’s first sustainability-themed board and mobile games designed to tackle deforestation, illegal mining, and other environmental threats through play.

The ATi games, unveiled at Hill View International School in Accra, introduce a new approach to climate and environmental education by combining interactive storytelling with culturally relevant Ghanaian content.

The games aim to help children and young people better understand the drivers, consequences, and solutions to issues such as illegal logging, plastic waste pollution, unsustainable farming, and land degradation.

With Ghana continuing to record significant forest loss and increasing concerns over illegal mining, the initiative arrives at a pivotal time for environmental learning and awareness-raising.

ATi’s design draws heavily on local culture and indigenous knowledge systems, integrating traditional farming practices, native forest wisdom, and local languages.

This approach is intended to help players connect classroom concepts with real-world environmental challenges in their own communities.

Representing the leadership and board of the Eco Games Foundation, the Communications and Communities Specialist, Eugenia Teiko Narh, it is important to introduce climate literacy in ways that young people find engaging.

She explained that “across Africa, millions of young people and adults care deeply about the environment but often lack engaging, accessible ways to understand the issues and take action. Eco Games Foundation was born to bridge that gap – by turning complex environmental problems into fun, relatable, and educational experiences through board and mobile games.”

She added that the organisation is committed to developing educational tools that respond directly to Ghana’s most urgent environmental challenges.

“From pressing concerns such as deforestation, illegal mining, plastic waste pollution, and unsustainable farming, we have pledged to create games that educate, engage, and empower – transforming awareness into action and inspiring lasting change for a more sustainable planet.”

Teachers, students, and environmental groups present at the launch welcomed the initiative as a timely contribution to practical climate education.

The Headmaster of Hill View International School, Chris Bamfo, remarked that the games bring environmental studies to life. He emphasised that “children will be having fun, and then they will be learning at the same time,” adding that ATi provides “an enriched development on how best to protect the environment”.

One of the students, Persis Arthur, said the experience strengthened her understanding of environmental protection.

She noted that she learned “illegal mining destroys our water bodies and land” and that cutting rosewood is unlawful. She added, “deforestation can cause harm to the environment, and we need the trees to survive.”

Partner organisations and civil society advocates also endorsed the initiative. Nelson Tokpo of Nviron Hive praised the game’s ability to illustrate the effects of galamsey and bushfires, while LYF Arena’s Nehemiah Attigah emphasised that “if we build a culture of protecting the environment, children will grow up to be more responsible.” He described ATi as “unique and relatable”.

Eco Games Foundation called for collaboration from government institutions, private companies, schools, NGOs, and community leaders to scale the initiative nationwide. The organisation stressed that achieving a greener and more sustainable future requires environmental education tools that reach learners wherever they are—whether in classrooms, communities, or on mobile devices.