Software and AI are now pervasive across domains such as healthcare, finance, and transportation, with AI increasingly used for code generation and debugging. This has led to practices such as vibe coding, where developers prompt AI to write code and lightly edit it, often with limited verification, which can introduce subtle bugs or security flaws. Despite its importance, software engineering ethics is often taught via lectures or case studies, limiting learners’ exposure to realistic ethical dilemmas. We present Ethicode City, an educational game that immerses players in city-building while facing software engineering dilemmas, such as choosing between AI-assisted or manual coding, balancing efficiency with security, and maintaining quality and documentation. Unlike prior tools focused narrowly on privacy or bias, the game covers a broad spectrum of professional ethics, fostering ethical awareness, critical thinking, and decision-making. Preliminary evaluations with 8 undergraduate students indicate that Ethicode City effectively enhances ethical reasoning. The game is available at https://github.com/rishalab/EthicodeCity.

@inproceedings{paperbot11846,
  title = {Ethicode City: Gamifying Software Engineering Ethics Education},
  author = {Shivadharshan S and Akilesh P and Sridhar Chimalakonda},
  booktitle = {ICSE},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1145/3774748.3795683}
}