Prioritizing water values for decision-making in transboundary river allocation: A case study of the syr darya river basin

• Studying water managers' value priorities reveals current practices and future shifts in allocation strategies. • Combining Q-sort surveys with a serious game reduces bias and yields richer results than user either alone. • Syr Darya managers valued economic and environmental values equally in surveys, but economic values dominated in the game. • The serious game 'Together We Flow" realistically simulates transboundary water allocation and fosters cooperation.