In the face of such turmoil, the warnings from students portraying scientists seemed to fall on deaf ears.

By the fourth round, all three groups came together to make one final decision — with scientists warning of an imminent eruption of the island’s volcano, they needed to formulate a plan.

Chaos ensued. Shouts, accusations, and arguments filled the room.

In the end, the students playing the government chose to evacuate to the northern tip of the island in an effort to avoid the pyroclastic flows — deadly masses of hot ash, rocks, and gases traveling at the speed of a train — produced by the eruption.

That decision paid off in the end: When the students’ score was tabulated, the class got an impressive 12 out of 25 — the best score of any of the four classes Ishii has led through the game.

In addition to providing an enjoyable hands-on experience for the students, the game also taught them a sobering lesson when, afterward, Ishii played a handful of video clips that showed some of the effects of the 1995 Soufrière Hills volcanic eruption, which left most of Montserrat uninhabitable.

“I could not believe that all that was left was a church tower peeking out of the ground,” said Oliver Hollo. “All these people’s livelihoods were altered, destroyed, and forever different. They had to start a new life because of this disaster.”

“The video at the end hit really hard,” added Jania Tumey, “and there was a real sense of immediacy with this game.”

“For me, the biggest thing as a student was that growing up we see all these natural disasters, and we wonder why there isn’t a plan for relief or more resources allocated to a particular source,” said Nadine Lee. “But after this you realize that even if you can allocate resources, there are repercussions, economic and otherwise, we may not think about.”

As their generation struggles to deal with the impacts of climate change, Berry said, it may be important for more people to understand the complex considerations that go into preparing for and dealing with disasters.

“This will definitely impact our generation,” she said. “So I think it’s important for young people to do things like this and learn more about what goes on behind the scenes, and how hard it is to coordinate disaster relief between multiple groups of people.”

Drew Kelner, a member of the scientists group, agreed.

“It amazed me how hard it was to get funding for projects I, as a scientist, knew would clearly benefit the safety of the whole island,” he said.