Exploring agricultural strategies among Maasai pastoralists undergoing rangeland subdivision in Amboseli (Kenya): insights from a role-playing board game

CONTEXT: With ongoing land tenure reforms in Kenya under the 2016 Community Land Act, group ranches in the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem are undergoing subdivision into individually owned plots. This process raises major concerns over reduced livestock mobility, unequal access to key resources, and growing social inequities among Maasai pastoralists. OBJECTIVE: This study uses a role-playing board game to simulate the subdivision of rangelands formerly managed as common property. It examines how Maasai herders adapt their agricultural decision-making to this radical institutional change, with the aim of fostering social learning and anticipating potential future agricultural changes. METHODS: The game was co-designed with Maasai herders, using a generic game as a starting point. Players make decisions (e.g., allocate livestock) before and after rangeland subdivision on a board that stylises their group ranches. The game was played in seven sessions involving 57 participants across six group ranches. The resulting dataset comprises direct observations, audiovisual recordings, and written material. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Players proposed a total of 12 distinct agricultural strategies following rangeland subdivision, which were grouped into four agricultural systems. Most participants continued to prioritise livestock-based strategies and mobility, while also experimenting with land sharing, leasing and selling, as well as plot pooling. Only 14% of players opted for cropping-oriented trajectories. The game highlighted tensions around equity and access to key resources, while debriefing sessions made explicit the learning processes and interests associated with the game. SIGNIFICANCE: This serious game demonstrated its value both as an engaging and effective tool for enabling participants to articulate their aspirations in response to a forthcoming real-world event, i.e., rangeland subdivision. Key principles, such as grounding the game in prior ethnographic research, co-designing it with participants, and training a local facilitator, emerge as critical for ensuring the reproducibility of the experience.