Play the role of the European hamster to better protect it!

In the framework of the LIFE Alister Project actions, GEPMA* is in charge of raising public awareness. Working closely with the other partners, it coordinated the mounting of an educational video game.

The goal of this support is to increase children’s knowledge of the European Hamster (8 – 12 years old) and thus introduce them to methods of saving them, and globally biodiversity in general.     

At the beginning of the game, players take the role of the European Hamster when its hibernation is over. This means they have to find enough food to feed themselves and increase their reserves. To get to the next level, they then have to harvest enough food points and also escape from predators, mainly foxes and buzzards.

Players will increase their speed when they meet their females, thus allowing them to avoid being hit by tractors or trucks!

Farther on in the game, the European Hamster’s territory cut into smaller and smaller pieces and full of more and more traps. Luckily there are wildlife passages so that they can cross the roads!

This game illustrates the most important themes in the LIFE Alister Project: the hamster’s habitat (using food and predation) and urban planning (using the study of adapted wildlife passages). Educational notes (examples on the side) on the habitat and necessities of the European Hamster can be consulted in the game.

This game can be downloaded free-of-charge on

This completes the range of educational tools used by GEPMA in the events it participates in and in particular the board game on the same theme that is played with cardboard question cards.