Play, Pause, Reflect: Re-envisioning Ethics Through the Hot Potato Game

Every year, Global Ethics Day by the  Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs invites individuals, schools, and communities around the world to reflect on the values that guide our choices. The 2025 theme, “Ethics Re-envisioned,” challenges us to think beyond traditional frameworks and to explore new, creative ways of engaging with moral dilemmas in a fast-changing world.

As part of this year’s celebration, we are also proud to announce the launch of our Hot Potato Game, a playful yet thought-provoking way for young people to explore real-life ethical challenges.A Game of Responsibility and ReflectionUnlike the traditional, this game is not about who gets caught holding the “hot potato” it’s about what you do when it lands in your hands. Students pass the digital “potato,” and when the music stops, the player must respond to an ethical scenario drawn from everyday school and community life. These scenarios are role-played, sparking dialogue, creativity, and collective reflection.

The game avoids “right or wrong” answers, instead, it emphasizes personal and collective responsibility, reminding us that our actions affect not only ourselves but also the world around us.Here’s how it works:

• Game Start: Children are randomly dispersed, and one of them starts the game. Music plays from the app while the “hot potato” (a mobile phone or ball) is passed around.

• Music Interruption: At unpredictable moments, the music stops. The student holding the hot potato must respond to a prompt.

• “Would You Rather” Questions: The student chooses between two alternatives. Peers who agree move to the same side as them, while the others move across, opening space for discussion.

• “Lighter” Questions: Instead of answering, the student passes the hot potato to the classmate they believe the question represents most.

• “Tell Me the Future” Questions: The student creates a scenario of how the proposal in front of them could influence the future, sparking imaginative foresight.

• Continued Gameplay: After each round of discussion, the music restarts and the game continues with new “hot potatoes.”

  
  

This playful yet thought-provoking format turns ethics into a shared, dynamic experience, where every round deepens understanding of values like integrity, accountability, and the impact of our choices on the future.Why on Global Ethics Day?Global Ethics Day encourages us to envision futures built on integrity, transparency, and justice. The Hot Potato Game embodies this vision by:

• Encouraging students to anticipate the consequences of their actions in the present and future.

• Using peer learning to explore ethics in a safe, engaging way.

• Showing that ethics is not abstract, it is alive in daily choices, friendships, and responsibilities.

  
  

In an era of digital transformation, gamified learning provides an innovative pathway to help young people see themselves as Future Integrity Leaders.Join Us in Re-envisioning EthicsThis Global Ethics Day, we invite schools, educators, and youth groups to take part in the Hot Potato Game. Together, let’s re-envision ethics not as a distant principle, but as a lived, shared practice that shapes the futures we want to create.

You can play the game online at the link below:

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