Scientists increasingly cross their disciplinary boundaries and connect with local stakeholders to jointly solve complex problems. Working with stakeholders means higher legitimacy and supports practical impact of research. Games provide a tool to achieve such transdisciplinary collaboration. In this paper, we explore the use of a game in a participatory project where scientists and local stakeholders are seeking and defining a joint problem. The literature is clear that this step is essential but remains short on concrete methods. Here, we explore this potential in practice. We conducted parallel participatory processes in two alpine regions considered as socio-ecological system (SES) in Switzerland and France, both vulnerable to global change. Based on these two case studies, we co-constructed a game, integrating scientific concerns about key land use, climate change and socio-economic elements of a mountain SES (tourism, agriculture, housing and demography). With the game, we assessed the existence of joint problems connecting scientific and local interests. The game successfully engaged participants at both sites over 11 game sessions, showing potential of use in other transdisciplinary settings. By covering a wide array of issues, the game created a discussion space for listing problems and identifying where scientist and stakeholder interests overlap. In Switzerland, the game revealed no pressing joint problem to be addressed. In France, game sessions revealed, among other problems, an enduring and complex issue regarding the co-existence of inhabitants and powerful institutions. Having demonstrated the capacity of this game for joint-problem assessment, we believe other participatory research in similar SES could benefit from an early use of such an approach to frame the potential for collaboration.

科学家越来越多地跨越学科界限，与当地利益相关者联系，共同解决复杂的问题。与利益相关者合作意味着更高的合法性并支持研究的实际影响。游戏提供了实现这种跨学科合作的工具。在本文中，我们探讨了在科学家和当地利益相关者寻求和定义共同问题的参与性项目中使用游戏。文献清楚地表明这一步骤是必不可少的，但仍然缺乏具体的方法。在这里，我们在实践中探索这种潜力。我们在瑞士和法国被视为社会生态系统 (SES) 的两个高山地区进行了平行的参与过程，这两个地区都容易受到全球变化的影响。基于这两个案例研究，我们共同构建了一个游戏，整合对山区 SES（旅游、农业、住房和人口）的关键土地利用、气候变化和社会经济要素的科学关注。通过游戏，我们评估了连接科学和地方利益的共同问题的存在。该游戏成功地吸引了两个站点的参与者超过 11 个游戏会话，显示了在其他跨学科环境中的使用潜力。通过涵盖广泛的问题，该游戏创建了一个讨论空间，用于列出问题并确定科学家和利益相关者的利益重叠之处。在瑞士，这场比赛没有显示出迫切需要解决的联合问题。在法国，游戏会议揭示了除其他问题外，一个关于居民和强大机构共存的持久而复杂的问题。