The World Game, conceived by R. Buckminster Fuller, constitutes a radical epistemic and operational shift from competitive geopolitical paradigms toward a comprehensive anticipatory design science aimed at universal human flourishing. Rather than replicating the adversarial logic of war simulations, Fuller proposes a planetary-scale simulation wherein all available data—material resources, technological capacities, and human needs—are integrated into a dynamic decision-making framework. As articulated in the foundational document, this system aspires to “make the world work for everyone” by prioritising resource optimisation without competitive exclusion, thereby reframing scarcity as a problem of design rather than inevitability . The theoretical development of this proposition hinges upon Fuller’s recognition of accelerating technological efficiency—doing “more with less”—which enables a reconfiguration of global systems beyond Malthusian constraints. A salient case study emerges in the pedagogical simulations conducted with interdisciplinary student groups, where participants, through iterative modelling and data synthesis, arrive at the realisation that global abundance is technically feasible within decades. These exercises exemplify the performative epistemology of the World Game: knowledge is not merely represented but enacted through simulation. Ultimately, Fuller’s framework converges with broader network-based systems such as Zettelkasten and pattern languages, yet surpasses them in scale, positing a planetary intelligence system wherein computation, design, and ethics coalesce to transform humanity’s operational logic from competition to coordinated coexistence.
