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Ze begon met een verbouwd Monopoly-bordspel, de straten omgedoopt tot bedrijfsnamen. Nu heeft Dr. Malgorzata (Gosia) Kozak, met steun van het Utrechts Stimuleringsfonds Onderwijs (USO), haar eigen bordspel. Je speelt om marktdominantie en leert ondertussen EU mededingingsrecht. Er is een kaart van Europa, bedekt met zeshoekige vakjes en iconen die bedrijven en sectoren voorstellen. Er zijn kaarten met vragen en gebeurtenissen (grote fusies van bedrijven, een wereldwijde pandemie). Er zijn toezichthouders en je kunt een advocaat bellen als je in de problemen zit. Malgorzata (Gosia) Kozak is een blije docent, die dit zelfgemaakte spel gebruikt om Europees mededingingsrecht te doceren.

De rest van dit artikel gaat verder in het Engels, de voertaal van het vak en het spel.

In the last class before the exam, Gosia divided the room into sets of players, each with a board. Textbooks were allowed to solve questions, but you could also answer them by heart to obtain more points. It was a really fun way to revise several topics we covered in class. The students in in the master’s programme European Law had the chance to play it for the first time. Based on their laughter, strategic discussions, and frequent use of the textbook, it looks like they truly engaged with the material!, says Gosia.  

Based on their laughter, strategic discussions, and frequent use of the textbook, it looks like they truly engaged with the material!

Engaging with the dynamics of market competition

The full name of the game is ‘Market Dominion: Navigating Competition Law’ and it can be played with up to six players. They all receive a starting capital and can try to expand their business, rolling the dice, moving accross the board, buying and selling and dealing with competitors. The game simulates real-world competition law enforcement scenario's. Even for law students, competition law can be tough to grasp, according to Gosia. Playing a game, helps students to understand complex law principles. They are engaging directly with the dynamics of market competition. It also stimulates critical thinking and practical decision-making skills. After the game, you can hold a debriefing session in which students analyse their decision making processes and understand the legal implications of their in-game actions. 

Fond of games

Personally, Gosia loves to play board games and thought it would be fun to introduce a game into her teaching. Being a legal scholar she soon felt uneasy to keep using Monopoly, someone elses idea. She dreamed of creating her own game and applied for a grant from the Education Innovation Project from the faculty of Law, Economics and Governance at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ. This, in its turn gets financed from the Utrecht Education Incentive Fund. It gave her funding to devote time to write her own set of in depth game questions and to create scenarios to play. To develop the educational aspects of the game, Gosia received support from Anouk den Hamer, an dducational advisor and trainer at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ.  

Of course, there were also material costst: designing and printing on firm paper. Not to be underestimated. The game was graphically designed by Lukasz Lubinski. Luckily, he also really loves to play board games, says Gosia. Lukasz devoted a lot of time and ideas into improving the game. With attention to beautful details, there's even an Utrecht Dom Tower on one of the money notes.

Taking it further

Gosia has allready received lots of requests from university teachers and lawyers all over Europe wanting to play the game, or introduce it into their organisation. I'm happy with the posistive feedback and it strengthens my belied that this is an affective and innovative teaching method. This is just the beginning of its journey, and I’m eager to see how it develops in the future.

The game will be played in the upcoming Utrecht summer school course  and Gosia is looking to develop a simpler version for players without a background in law.