Fusion: The Theory of Change Game
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Every plan to change something rests on a belief about how that change will happen. Making that belief explicit – and convincing others it holds up – is harder than it sounds.
Fusion turns that into a fast, creative card game for 3–12 players. Draw a couple of everyday objects, a setting, and an outcome to aim for, then work together to fuse them into a believable story of how change could actually happen. It’s easy to learn but hard to master, and no two rounds play out the same way. No experience with Theory of Change needed – you learn by doing.
Gameplay
Your goal is to build the most convincing Theory of Change in the room. In pairs or small groups, you draw two Object cards, one Setting card, and one Outcome card, then have eight minutes to connect them into a short, plausible narrative — what you would do with the objects, how that leads to the outcome, and what has to be true along the way.
Then you pitch. Every other group offers feedback and asks the hard questions: are there leaps in the logic, do both objects really earn their place, does the setting actually shape your approach? You take that feedback on board, draw a fresh object if you want one, revise, and pitch again. Everyone scores everyone else, and the highest-scoring theory wins.
Purpose
Theory of Change is one of the most useful ideas in program design, evaluation, and social impact — and one of the hardest to teach. It is abstract, and it only clicks when people practise the reasoning for themselves.
Fusion gives them that practice without the jargon. Under the fun, players are doing the real thing: making causal logic explicit, naming their assumptions, adapting to context, and sharpening their thinking in response to critique. Use it as an icebreaker, a team-building session, a training exercise, or a warm-up before the real planning starts. It suits any sector and every level of an organisation.
- What’s in the box35 Object cards — everyday items, tools, and resources
- 15 Outcome cards — the changes you want to see
- 10 Setting cards — the places and situations where your theory plays out
- 6 Reference cards — a critique guide on one side, a scoring rubric on the other
- Instructions - plus a link to printable scoring sheets
A full round for three pairs takes about 20–25 minutes, and you can stretch or tighten the timings to suit your group.
This is Theory of Change fun for... welll... everyone!