1 Introduction The usage of mobile technologies facilitates contextual and location-based learning in general [1] and is especially of interest in environmental education [3, 7, 10]. Thus, serious location-based games are replacing the classical field trip by providing novel potentials to explore the surrounding environment on the one hand and increasing enjoyment on the other [5]. In addition, they adapt to new learning habits of the Digital Natives that nowadays are organizing almost every- thing with their mobile devices [4]. This work is part of the BioDiv2Go 1 project that started in December 2013 as a cooperation of the Department of Biology and Biological Education at the University of Education in Ludwigsburg, the Chair of Computing in the Cultural Sciences at the University of Bamberg and the German Youth Hostel Association (DJH). The goal of the project is to create entertaining experiences for school children discovering biodiversity by playing mobile games in the natural environ- ment [8]. While the pedagogues from Ludwigsburg are mainly focused on designing appropriate Geogames for different scenarios based on a theoretical framework for biodiversity education, the technological part of the Geogame development is done by the computer scientists at the University of Bamberg. The DJH’s role in this project is the dissemination of the Geogames to the target group. In this short paper we first discuss different types of Geogames in environmental education. We identify techno- logical design challenges based on different application 1 www.biodiv2go.de scenarios and provide solutions for (1) being able to play without server connection and (2) creating site-specific games based on the local environment. We present a game app that was developed within the BioDiv2Go project to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methods. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 gives an overview about related work in the field of Geogames for environmental education. Section 3 identifies design challenges and describes Finde Vielfalt Simulation – a game app for biodiversity education – as well as a Geogame editor used for creating customized games and analyzing game results. Section 4 concludes this paper with a discussion and outlook. 2 Geogames in Environmental Education Location-based mobile learning (LBML) in combination with gamification techniques offer new possibilities that go beyond classical field trips. Especially for environmental education game-based mobile learning can enhance sustainable learning experiences on-site [5, 10]. Benford et al. [2] present an experimental location-based game called Savannah which aims to encourage the players in understanding the behavior of lions trough personal experience. Different frame conditions (hazards, hunters and other lions) have to be taken into account in order to make decisions about territory, shelter, food, water and reproduction. The game is staged on an empty school playing field by five students at a Challenges in Geogame Design for Biodiversity Education Olga Yanenko Klaus Stein Clemens Klug University of Bamberg Chair of Computing in the Cultural Sciences 96047 Bamberg, Germany {olga.yanenko, klaus.stein, clemens.klug}@uni-bamberg.de Abstract Using Geogames in educational scenarios is an entertaining way to foster experiential outdoor learning. Especially in environmental sciences they provide new potentials by connecting the learners with the local surroundings. This paper discusses technological challenges relevant to Geogame design for environmental education. A Geogame app with the purpose to enhance the player’s sensibility to biodiversity issues is presented that can be played without server connection since network connectivity often lacks in rural regions. To provide the possibility for creating customized game variants for diverse locations, a Geogame editor is introduced that assists the game stager in relocating existing games and adjusting the game narrative to a given situation. Keywords: Geogames, Location-based Games, Educational Games, Biodiversity, Geogame Editor, Offline Gaming