Using gaming to engage people in gov't

Well, fun works, and maybe Dustin Haisler from Manor Labs has the right idea.

In Does gaming have a place in government? he speculates about two ways that might build on existing approaches to get people involved:

Let’s say we built an online game that was as engaging as [Zynga’s FarmVille game], but incorporated real governmental concepts in the process. Which concepts are important to start with?

• Taxation: Have the gamer adjust taxes, but also have it tied to public opinion (similar to Sim City, but less complex).
• Cost of service: Have responding to police calls, water line breaks, etc., demonstrate a cost of service for government.

Or alternatively:

Building on [the Foursquare] model, each agency could allow citizens to “check in” at various city spots (library, fire station, etc.) and learn more about their community in a fun and engaging format. This could also help open up the door for their participating in other crowdsourced programs like SeeClickFix.