Autor: Jan Grzymski

MA Students at European Studies Programme

The last test game before the launch of the Kickstarter campaign took place in Canada! We flew over the Atlantic Ocean to Ottawa, the fantastic Canadian capital, to play the Brexit negotiations with European Studies students at the renowned Carleton University. We now have solid proof that 'How to Win Brexit?’ is ready to be played globally!

The game engaged the players from the beginning to the very last second. The UK’s negotiators firmly stood their ground and were uncompromising in pursuing team interests. On the other hand, the EU institutions seemed open to sacrifices on the condition it would lead to a final Deal. However, the sensitive issue of the Irish border slipped out of their minds during the heated talks. But, the leaders of Ireland and Northern Ireland reminded the negotiators several times during Press Conferences to consider their interests. The UK and the EU negotiation teams played hard until the end, but they sealed the agreement, with the UK winning the overall highest team score.

Both teams, however, were eventually content with the Deal.

Participants of political simulation within Model European Union (MEU)

Our next stop was at the Model European Union (MEU) in the dynamic capital of Poland, the rising city of Warsaw. After Zagreb and Skopje, it was the 3rd MEU event where ‘How to Win Brexit?’ was hosted. We continue fruitful and mutually inspiring cooperation with BETA Europe!

In this game, we had captivating impersonations, particularly with the French President and Hungarian Prime Minister characters. The game progressed very dynamically with shifting negotiating positions. Explicit factions formed in each team with different goals, and the leaders could not always get complete control over their teams. However, a deal was eventually secured with a slim majority relying on the support of the Hard Brexit faction leader and the leading Eurosceptic EU member, the Hungarian PM. The players tested the newly updated version of the game. For the first time, a new game feature was introduced – allowing for two extensions of 10 minutes each, causing some loss of reputation.

The game is constantly being refined!

The academics and students at the Annual Conference of European Studies association UACES

Our next phase took us to the UACES Annual conference in the picturesque city of Lille in northeast France. UACES is one of the most distinguished academic associations in the European Studies field. Crucially, UACES members and friends are predominantly highly renowned Brexit experts affiliating mostly with UK universities. Their enthusiastic feedback was an encouraging indication of the game’s promise.

We held two game sessions: the first for the conference attendees and the second for the political science students of the University of Lille. At the academics game, there were friendly handshakes and diplomatic smiles, but all froze when the UK delegation defended its sovereignty by casually mentioning that the UK possessed nukes! In this simulation, the players experienced the constraints of time pressure, but eventually, they agreed to the Withdrawal Agreement to the satisfaction of both sides. Unfortunately, the second game ended in no deal! Even though it looked like the leaders would agree, in the end, individual interest prevailed over a collective agreement. Nevertheless, the players demonstrated passion, used multiple strategic manoeuvres, and applied their rhetoric skills at a world-class level.