New Board Game Highlights Mycorrhizal Relationships

A new board game called “Undergrove” highlights the mycorrhizal relationships between trees and fungi, reports National Public Radio’s Short Wave. In the game, players assume the role of trees that create carbon through photosynthesis. They then partner with mushrooms in the mycorrhizal network to trade that carbon for nutrients such as nitrogen. The game’s creator, Elizabeth Hargrave, says she hopes that interacting with the real-world nutrient trading system via the game will help people recognize and remember how the system works.