Dutch DiGRA Symposium 2025: Futures for Game Research

Call for Abstracts Call for abstracts out now! The Digital Games Research Association is “An international association for academics and professionals who research digital games and associated phenomena.” Its aim is to stimulate high-quality research on games, and to “promote collaboration and dissemination of work by its members.” Aside from the main conference, countries may

Marijn Benschop, dr. Laura op de Beke
21-05-2025 // Events, Insights, News // Multi theme

Funded PhD position: Playing the Hidden Curriculum

Connected to our project Playing the Hidden Curriculum, we’re recruiting a fully funded PhD student at Utrecht University/University Medical Center Utrecht. The PhD will be conducting research into the “hidden curriculum” prevalent at Utrecht University, using games and play as heuristic to explore the hidden curriculum’s goals and rules (i.e., prevalent norms, social and institutional

dr. Jasper van Vught
06-05-2025 // Jobs // Criticism and Analysis, Games Beyond Entertainment

Taking Perspectives with Game Design: Teachers wanted for pilot!

The participants of the Playing Perspectives workshop at the Onderwijsfestival at Utrecht University are fully engaged in conversation. The striking photo on the table is what they’re talking about. Because what do you see in this photo? What stands out and what is your interpretation? This turns out to be quite different for each participant.

dr. Jasper van Vught
12-03-2025 // Events, Insights, News // Games Beyond Entertainment

A new game that opens up your mind

Have you ever received a message from someone who’s number is not in your phone? We’ve all been in that situation before, trying to guess who the mystery sender is. This all-too-common situation is one of three starting points of Open Mind, a creative ‘whodonnit’-type educational game. Players have to talk to various characters –

Editorial Team
31-01-2025 // Insights, Longread, News // Games Beyond Entertainment

What is (Dutch) Game Research? – Part 1

Is there a specific Dutch identity to the game research conducted in the Netherland? Or at the UU? Part 1 of a series of articles exploring this key question.

Amy Lycklama
18-10-2024 // Insights, Longread // Multi theme

Article: Digital literacy games: a systematic literature review

Frontiers in Communication journal has published the open access article "Digital literacy games: a systematic literature review", authored by the team behind the Digital Literacy Games KIEM GO-CI grant project, a collaboration between Erasmus University and Utrecht University.

Editorial Team
10-10-2024 // Publications // Games Beyond Entertainment

Game Research @ DiGRA 2024

The yearly international confernce of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) was held in Guadalajara, Mexico from 1-5 July, and members from the Utrecht Center for Game Research were present to present their current work.

Editorial Team
15-07-2024 // Events // Criticism and Analysis

Fostering an Open Mind – First Test of WP2

On June 7th 2024, the Fostering an open mind and open attitude in higher education using games and art-based educational activities (Open Mind) project ran an initial play test of the first two components of Work Packet 2 (WP2), a toolbox to aid students in building games that deal with often complex and polarizing topics in an approachable manner.

Editorial Team
12-06-2024 // Insights, Longread, News // Games Beyond Entertainment

Playing the Hidden Curriculum

Playing the Hidden Curriculum: Exposing, materializing and questioning the unwritten rules of higher education is a research project that aims to adress the unwritten social and cultural rules in education, so that the UU will foster its education in a more social and inclusive way.

Editorial Team
31-05-2024 // Education, Insights, News // Games Beyond Entertainment, Multi theme, Social Games and Play

Week of the Game @ Utrecht University

Here is the full up to date programme overview for Utrecht University's Week of the Game 2024.

dr. René Glas, dr. Jasper van Vught
18-03-2024 // Events // Multi theme