NMSU Extension launches ‘Cozy River Valley’ farming game

A team from the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service has launched a new game to teach players about the effects of water use decisions. “Cozy River Valley” focuses on balancing water consumption, community, environment, and financial well-being.

The media production team from NMSU’s Innovation Media Research and Extension and Learning Games Lab in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, developed the game, which is a data-informed simulation of changing climate conditions predicted during the next 60 years. Even though the crops are fictional, they are based on real crops with real data.

This work was supported the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and in collaboration with the University of California-Merced and the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute.

PHOTO: Cozy River Valley game (NMSU Extension)