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The outdoor game Hard Choices is a playful way to gather input on the future of a neighborhood with ordinary cell phones. In 2021, the game launched in collaboration with the DC Office of Planning at a neighborhood festival called Art All Night. To begin the game, an MC or onstage host at a public event asks everyone to gather around one player selected to roll our 10 sided die. Their role determines the neighborhood topic that everyone will consider and reveals a QR code that unlocks the opening question. The game then unfolds in the text message conversation with our system. Players in real-time make choices by texting back their decision, especially on local issues from public space, priorities like lighting to bicycle transit and cultural resilience as well.

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Players can leave comments for the city within the game, and we especially loved watching the game spill over into conversations between neighbors about what is best for their neighborhood.