Can you imagine earning the right to adopt a llama by first finding perfect homes to take in 5 other foster animals in your temporary care? That’s what happens in the joyful and educational board game, EcoRanch. And then it goes much deeper than the ranch hand duties.

I first spoke with the Colorado inventor, Eileen Thournir, about a year ago as she brought her new creation to market and became a fellow business member of Green America (Co-op America). EcoRanch is the first of many games she has planned at her new company, Enlightened Play, and has already fast earned awards for this novel toy that requires no batteries or electrical outlets. “There’s a desire to give back, to create a more sustainable environment, to protect and nurture the planet,” says Eileen, and her US-made game puts these same values into a fun tabletop game.

Beyond the several tasks players handle around the game board for the welfare of these many ranch animals, such as building a shelter or finding veterinary care, the game includes many throught-provoking questions outside of the ranch hand duties. Some of the game’s Awareness Cards share knowledge about creating a more sustainable environment and others prompt open-ended reflections about choices to act in our global community. Without a stated right or wrong answer, EcoRanch instead encourages freedom of expression in each individual. Also, bartering, trade and donations are all at discretion of players, so the true spirit in these actions is learned naturally.

I would love to see this toy game available in animal shelters, providing another source of income to these important organizations. Today’s news reports remind us that the challenges of our economy result in many more animals and home pets in grave danger. EcoRanch allows one to engage in this innate need to care, expanding on wider principles in the company of friends and family, moving forward as a society. 

And I like that the game leads to examples that enlightenment can not only come through deeper reflections but also acting in the simplest details, such as locating a water trough for your very thirsty llama.