Everyone at Erasmus University - whether you are a student, scientist or professional services staff - sooner or later faces difficult choices. Think of questions like, "Can I leave certain results out of my research?", "How do I deal with unwanted behavior within my team?" or "What do I do if a colleague has contributed too little to a publication?"
The Dilemma Game app was developed for these types of situations: a tool that challenges you to reflect on your choices and moral boundaries. In a safe and open setting, you are invited to discuss dilemmas, consider different perspectives and thus strengthen your own moral compass.

Download the app:

What is the Dilemma Game?
The Dilemma Game encourages an open and honest dialogue about scientific as well as social integrity. After reading a dilemma, you choose from four possible courses of action, discuss your choice with others or reflect on it yourself using the expert review. There are no right or wrong answers: it's all about conversation, reflection, and listening to each other's motives.
The app offers three game modes:
- Individual: play solo and reflect on your choice using the expert review.
- Group: play with others and discuss your considerations.
- Lecture: use the game during lectures or training sessions and discuss the results using statistics on the big screen.
Teambuilding
Integrity is an important part of an open, safe and inclusive academic culture. By discussing ethical issues and reflecting on our actions, we build a stronger university community together. Therefore, use the Dilemma Game as a starting point for meaningful team dialogue and discover what is going on within your team.
To do this, use the Group format. Choose a couple of appropriate dilemmas about scientific and/or social integrity in advance and discuss them together. Which choice would each teammember make, and why? How could a situation like this be prevented?
Having an open conversation about integrity dilemmas helps to better understand each other's values, beliefs and perspectives. Moreover, the conversations can provide tools to make joint agreements about how you want to act as a team when ethical or personal boundaries are crossed. This not only sharpens the moral compass, but also strengthens the mutual cooperation and breaks down the shyness to act in integrity issues.
From card game to app
The game was originally played with physical cards, but has been available as a free app in English since 2020. As a result, you can play the game anytime and anywhere: individually or in groups, within a variety of academic contexts at home and abroad.
The app is constantly being developed. In 2024, a new set of dilemmas about social integrity has been added, in addition to the existing moral issues surrounding scientific integrity. New dilemmas appear in the database every month. These are carefully compiled in close cooperation between academics and integrity experts from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Users can also suggest dilemmas themselves, so that the app stays in line with current practical experiences.
Want to know more or get started?
Download the app now! View the instruction booklet and discover how you can start the conversation about integrity. Read the Privacy Statement for more information about the processing of user data.
Downloads
Contact
Any questions about the Dilemma Game app can be directed towards dilemmagame@eur.nl.
In addition, specific questions concerning privacy can be directed to Marlon Domingus, Data Protection Officer at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He can be reached via fg@eur.nl.