An educational game and real-world restoration initiative empowering communities to design, fund, and deploy artificial reefs — connecting the wider public to the challenges underwater and bringing them on the journey to support ocean restoration.
People are fundamentally disconnected from what's happening underwater — the kelp barren crisis is out of sight and out of mind
Traditional conservation education materials fail to engage the public — the problem feels too large, too distant, and too depressing
Marine reserves don't recover by themselves — active community involvement in reef restoration is essential for scale
Match-3 game mechanics bring reef ecology to life — playfully teaching players about kina barrens, predator recovery, and reef biodiversity
Real-world impact: players can fund and name actual artificial reef deployments — bridging the game world and the ocean
Community co-design: communities choose reef locations, monitor recovery, and share progress — garners support of the wider public
Core match-3 game mechanics teaching kelp ecology. Mobile-first. Designed around the Kelp Helpers restoration story.
Public beta with schools, dive clubs, and community groups. Tie game outcomes to real reef monitoring data from Pingo.
Communities design and fund artificial reef structures. KinaKrete and mussel reef elements deployed at player-funded locations.
Minecraft Quest licensing model — licensing the game format to MPI and PADI for conservation education programs. Target: $1,000/month.