Center for Game Research

Center for Game Research

The central hub for disseminating game research from Utrecht University

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  • Most recent

    • Ecogame Playtesting Series 2025/26
    • New book on Historiographies of Game Studies
    • Open Mind game challenges to look further
    • Dutch Games Monitor 2024 is out now!
    • Dutch Games Association: Generative AI and Video Games Event @Utrecht University
  • Most viewed

    • Dutch DiGRA Symposium 2025: Futures for Game and Play Research.
    • Ecogame Playtesting Series 2025/26
    • PhD Position in Player-Centric Video Game AI
    • Funded PhD position: Playing the Hidden Curriculum
    • Journal Special Issue: Games, Books and Gamebooks

“Hacking Board Games” Workshop at RMeS 2024 Summer School

Concluding the RMeS Summer School 2024: Environmental Media, Laura op de Beke and Stefan Werning of the Utrecht Game Lab organised a workshop for RMA students to facilitate ecological thinking by redesigning (or: ‘hacking’) board games. 

dr. Stefan Werning, dr. Laura op de Beke
14-07-2024 // 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

“Change makers don’t understand games; game makers don’t understand change”

Read the Anticiplay blog post written by Joost Vervoort about why policy makers, activists and game developers should “enter each other’s worlds”.

Editorial Team
06-06-2024 // Insights, Longread // Games and Sustainability

Research Projects

>> All Research Projects

Crisis to Resilience

Ecogame Playtesting Series 2025/26

After a successful run last fall, Flora Roberts, Laura op de Beke, and Stefan Werning, representing the Network for Environmental Humanities (NEH) and the Utrecht Game Lab, are back with another series of ecogame play(testing) sessions. 

dr. Laura op de Beke
20-08-2025 // Insights // Games and Sustainability
  • Education, Events:

    Hybrid Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x Man Met)

  • Education, Events:

    Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x WUR Games Hub)

Comenius - Fostering an Open Mind

Open Mind game challenges to look further

From now on, the Open Mind game, a creative educational game in the style of “whodunit”, is available in the Apple App and Google Play store. Students play the game on their own smartphones and receive mysterious messages from an unknown sender. By talking to various characters about their traits, values and beliefs, they have

14-07-2025 // Education, News // Games Beyond Entertainment, Social Games and Play
  • Events, Insights, News:

    Taking Perspectives with Game Design: Teachers wanted for pilot!

  • Insights, Longread, News:

    A new game that opens up your mind

Toxic Behaviors in Multiplayer Games

Game Research @ CHI 2025

The latest installment of the ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems took place in Yokohama, Japan from April 26 to May 01, 2025. CHI is the premier international conference of Human-Computer Interaction and had a record attendance with more than 5200 on-site attendees this year. Researchers from the

dr. Julian Frommel, dr. Johannes Pfau
14-05-2025 // Events, News // Ethics of Play, Game Technology and AI, Social Games and Play
  • Events:

    Game Research @Dutch DiGRA 2024 Symposium

  • Events, Insights:

    Game Research @CHI PLAY 2024!

Shape2Gether - Erasmus+

Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School

This is a reflection of the third and final “summer” school of the Shape2Gether Erasmus+ project that took place a month ago in Bochum, Germany.

12-05-2025 // Education, Events // Games and Sustainability, Games Beyond Entertainment
  • Events:

    Shape2Gether – Time for Workshops

  • Education, Events:

    Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Malta summer school

Themes

>> All Themes

Games and Sustainability

Ecogame Playtesting Series 2025/26

After a successful run last fall, Flora Roberts, Laura op de Beke, and Stefan Werning, representing the Network for Environmental Humanities (NEH) and the Utrecht Game Lab, are back with another series of ecogame play(testing) sessions. 

dr. Laura op de Beke
20-08-2025 // Insights // Games and Sustainability
  • In the media, News:

    Dutch Games Monitor 2024 is out now!

  • Education, Events:

    Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School

Games Beyond Entertainment

New book on Historiographies of Game Studies

We would like to point you in the direction of a recently released edited volume titled Historiographies of Game Studies: What It Has Been, What It Could Be. The chapters in the book, two of which were authored by UU scholars, critically reflect on both the past and potential futures of game studies as a field.

Editorial Team
14-08-2025 // Books, News, Publications // Criticism and Analysis, Games Beyond Entertainment
  • Education, News:

    Open Mind game challenges to look further

  • Education, Events:

    Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School

Criticism and Analysis

Hybrid Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x Man Met)

On April 30th 2025, the Utrecht Gamelab and the Manchester Game Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University collaborated on a first-of-its-kind hybrid three-hour co-design workshop, building on the work of Chloe Germaine and Paul Wake on ‘game hacking’ and the ‘franchise hacking’ technique developed by the Utrecht Game Lab on the basis of Germaine and Wake’s

07-05-2025 // Education, Events // Criticism and Analysis, Game Design, Games and Sustainability
  • Jobs:

    Funded PhD position: Playing the Hidden Curriculum

  • Publications:

    Journal Special Issue: Games, Books and Gamebooks

Social Games and Play

Open Mind game challenges to look further

From now on, the Open Mind game, a creative educational game in the style of “whodunit”, is available in the Apple App and Google Play store. Students play the game on their own smartphones and receive mysterious messages from an unknown sender. By talking to various characters about their traits, values and beliefs, they have

14-07-2025 // Education, News // Games Beyond Entertainment, Social Games and Play
  • Events, News:

    Game Research @ CHI 2025

  • Events, Insights:

    Game Research @CHI PLAY 2024!

Disciplines

>> All Disciplines

Media and Culture Studies

New book on Historiographies of Game Studies

We would like to point you in the direction of a recently released edited volume titled Historiographies of Game Studies: What It Has Been, What It Could Be. The chapters in the book, two of which were authored by UU scholars, critically reflect on both the past and potential futures of game studies as a field.

Editorial Team
14-08-2025 // Books, News, Publications // Criticism and Analysis, Games Beyond Entertainment
  • Education, News:

    Open Mind game challenges to look further

  • In the media, News:

    Dutch Games Monitor 2024 is out now!

Computer Sciences

Open Mind game challenges to look further

From now on, the Open Mind game, a creative educational game in the style of “whodunit”, is available in the Apple App and Google Play store. Students play the game on their own smartphones and receive mysterious messages from an unknown sender. By talking to various characters about their traits, values and beliefs, they have

14-07-2025 // Education, News // Games Beyond Entertainment, Social Games and Play
  • Events, Insights, News:

    Dutch DiGRA Symposium 2025: Futures for Game and Play Research.

  • Events, News:

    Game Research @ CHI 2025

Geosciences

Dutch DiGRA Symposium 2025: Futures for Game and Play Research.

Programme, sign-up sheet, and abstracts now available! This year the Dutch DiGRA is hosted by Utrecht University. The programme is filled with research about the future of game studies, gamification and play in contemporary society, and much more! All are welcome, so sign up using the Google Form in this post!

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

    Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School

  • Events:

    Shape2Gether – Time for Workshops

History and Art History

New digital escape room MedievalMe brings the Middle Ages to life

How do you spark excitement for medieval history in secondary school students? Sanne Frequin, art historian and Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, has the answer: MedievalMe. This innovative Dutch serious game immerses students in the medieval worldview.

Utrecht University news site
14-01-2025 // News // Games Beyond Entertainment
  • Education, Events, Publications:

    History of Game Research at Utrecht University

Center for Game Research

Central hub for disseminating high-quality game research from Utrecht University to a diverse audience that includes academics, students, game developers, and journalists.

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Drift 10, 3512 BS Utrecht

The Netherlands

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