GAMECHANGERS

Funding programme

Erasmus+ KA210-YOU – Small-scale Partnerships in Youth

Project reference

2024-1-MT01-KA210-YOU-000246379

Period

2024–2026

Coordinating organisation

Projekta 360 Ltd (Malta)

Participating countries

Malta, Czechia

Official project website

Visit official website

GameChangers aimed to strengthen young people’s personal, social, creative and entrepreneurial competences through modern board games, collaborative game design, digital tools and international non-formal learning experiences.

The project combined two complementary educational approaches: learning through playing existing board games and learning through the process of designing, developing, testing and improving new games.

It also sought to increase access to board games through community lending libraries and to help young people explore Erasmus+ opportunities, European cultures and the potential of games for social entrepreneurship.

Specific learning objectives

• Critical thinking: Encourage participants to analyse situations, compare alternatives, question assumptions and evaluate decisions through gameplay and game-design activities.
• Problem-solving: Develop the ability to identify challenges, propose solutions, test alternatives and respond constructively when initial approaches do not work.
• Creativity: Stimulate imagination, storytelling and the development of original ideas through the creation of game themes, rules, mechanics, characters and components.
• Teamwork: Provide opportunities for participants to cooperate, distribute responsibilities, negotiate design decisions and work towards shared objectives.
• Communication: Strengthen verbal expression, active listening, discussion and constructive feedback during gameplay, collaborative development and international activities.
• Game design literacy: Introduce young people to the principles of modern board game design, including player experience, mechanics, rules, balance, prototyping and iterative testing.
• Digital and AI literacy: Explore how artificial intelligence and other digital tools can support brainstorming, writing, visual design and prototyping while maintaining human responsibility for creative and design decisions.
• Entrepreneurial thinking: Encourage participants to recognise opportunities, assess the value of existing ideas and consider how game-based activities might become sustainable initiatives or businesses.
• Social entrepreneurship: Explore how board game libraries, community gaming spaces and other recreational activities can respond to social needs such as isolation, limited youth opportunities and unequal access to leisure.
• Intercultural learning: Facilitate interaction between young people from Malta and Czechia, encouraging mutual understanding and awareness of different cultural and social contexts.
• European awareness: Introduce Erasmus+ opportunities, international youth experiences, European geography, history and cultural diversity through learning activities and youth-developed games.
• Initiative and personal responsibility: Encourage participants to transform ideas into tangible outputs by developing prototypes, reviewing feedback and completing collaborative projects.
• Accessibility to recreational learning: Reduce practical barriers to board game participation by providing shared game collections to schools, youth centres and community organisations.
• Youth worker competences: Provide educators and youth organisations with access to recreational games and resources that can support non-formal learning and group activities.

GameChangers placed particular emphasis on practical experience and creative participation rather than formal instruction alone.

The intended skills were practised through activities, but their development should not be confused with objectively measured improvements in those competences.

GameChangers combined the educational use of existing commercial board games with the collaborative development of new games by young participants.

Two original Erasmus-themed games emerged from the project: Erasmus Unleashed, developed by the Maltese participants, and ErasmusVentures, developed by the Czech team.

The project also established board game lending collections in both countries, encouraging the use of existing recreational games in youth work, schools and community activities.

Games developed

1. Erasmus Unleashed – Malta

Erasmus Unleashed is an original physical board game developed by ten young people from Malta after participating in the PlayQuest international learning experience in Czechia.

The game combines European cultural knowledge, travel, challenges and the collection of objects within an adventure narrative inspired by Erasmus+ mobility.

Game narrative

Players assume the roles of pets searching for their owners, who have travelled abroad through Erasmus+.

Each pet must travel across a map of Europe, recover belongings left by its owner and eventually reunite with them.

Documented game mechanics

• Movement across Europe: Players travel between countries represented on the game board.
• Question answering: Players respond to questions covering European culture, geography, history and Erasmus+.
• Timed challenges: Certain situations require players to complete activities within a time limit.
• Item collection: Correct answers allow players to recover one of the belongings left by their owner.
• Consequences of incorrect answers: An incorrectly answered question causes the relevant item to move to another location in Europe.
• Race objective: The first pet to recover all five belongings reunites with its owner and wins.
• Custom components: The participants designed the cards, questions, challenges, item tokens and pet-shaped playing pieces.

Development process

The first ideas emerged during a practical AI and board game design workshop in Dobříš, Czechia.

After returning to Malta, the ten participants continued developing the game’s concept, rules, story, questions, challenges, components and visual identity.

The design process involved decisions about clarity, difficulty, player engagement and the balance between educational content and recreational appeal.

Erasmus Unleashed was subsequently presented at a public Game On event at the Valletta Design Cluster in 2026, where visitors had opportunities to see and play it.

Educational integration: Knowledge of Europe and Erasmus+ is introduced primarily through questions and challenges, while the process of developing the game provided opportunities for creativity, communication, teamwork and problem-solving.

Number of players and duration: Not independently established from a publicly accessible complete rulebook.

Current availability: A physical version has been produced and publicly presented. However, no complete downloadable print-and-play package or independently accessible rulebook was identified during the review.

2. ErasmusVentures – Czechia

ErasmusVentures is a strategy board game developed by the Czech Game On team to represent choices, opportunities and challenges associated with international Erasmus+ experiences.

Rather than relying primarily on factual questions, the game introduces Erasmus-related concepts through decisions, resource management and strategic development.

Design origin

The creators initially drew inspiration from the existing commercial board game Citadels.

They subsequently reworked the rules, adapted the terminology and developed new cards and mechanisms to create an Erasmus-themed experience.

In particular, the equivalent of district cards evolved into representations of experiences, skills, opportunities and connections associated with international youth projects.

Documented game characteristics

• Strategic decision-making: Players make choices that influence the development of their Erasmus-inspired journey.
• Resource management: Limited resources must be allocated in response to different opportunities and challenges.
• Card-based development: Cards represent experiences, skills, opportunities and connections associated with international youth activities.
• Adaptability: Players respond to changing circumstances and consider alternative strategies.
• Iterative design: The development team modified rules, balanced cards and refined the game’s structure through successive stages.
• Handmade visual identity: The creators produced their own illustrations using digital drawing tools, maintaining human control over the game’s artwork.
• Limited AI assistance: Artificial intelligence was used mainly for inspiration and possible card names rather than generating the final game artwork.

Development and testing

The Czech team developed the prototype over several months following PlayQuest, preparing the rules in English and refining the components, visual presentation and game balance.

The game was publicly presented for the first time on 4 July 2026 in Krásná Hora nad Vltavou, Czechia.

Visitors were able to play the prototype, discuss the mechanics with its creators and provide feedback about the game experience.

The project describes ErasmusVentures as a fully playable prototype whose rules, card effects and balance may continue to be refined.

Educational integration: The game represents international youth opportunities through resource management and strategic decisions, creating a more direct relationship between Erasmus-related experiences and gameplay than a purely question-based approach.

Number of players and duration: Not independently verified.

Current availability: A playable physical prototype and English-language rules have been documented, but no publicly downloadable complete game package or rulebook was identified.

3. Existing Commercial Board Games – Game On Libraries

In addition to developing original games, GameChangers established board game sharing initiatives in Malta and Czechia.

Malta – Game On Games Library

Projekta Malta created a rotating collection of games available for schools, youth centres, NGOs and other community organisations.

The library provides access to games selected for different group sizes, ages, interests and educational opportunities.

The publicly available catalogue includes commercial and recreational games involving cooperation, strategy, communication, observation, memory and problem-solving.

Examples listed in the current catalogue include Kluster, Jumanji, BrainBox – Maths, Xarpiklu, Paniku and other titles. Their presence in the current library does not necessarily establish that each title was used during the original funded training activities.

Czechia – GameON Czechia Board Games Library

The Czech partner developed a decentralised library consisting of 25 rotating sets containing a total of 175 board and card games.

Each set contained seven different games and was placed in schools, libraries, community centres or other local organisations for approximately six weeks before being exchanged.

The collection combined family games, card games, cooperative games, observation and knowledge games, strategy games and individual puzzles.

The borrowing system was free and designed to make games available directly within communities rather than requiring users to travel to a central facility.

Game approach: Mixed – existing commercial board games used for non-formal learning and social participation, alongside original games developed by young participants.

Distinctive characteristic: GAMECHANGERS treats playing games and creating games as complementary educational processes, connecting recreational experiences with creativity, game design, European awareness and entrepreneurial thinking.

GAMECHANGERS adopts an experiential, participatory approach to Board Game-Based Learning that combines playing existing games, analysing recreational experiences, designing new games and reflecting on their educational and social value.

The project uses modern board games not only as learning resources but also as objects of creative exploration and development.

Its methodology connects non-formal learning, game design, artificial intelligence, international cooperation and social entrepreneurship.

Methodological approach

1. Exploration of existing board games: Young people experience different recreational games and examine how rules, mechanics, player interaction and challenges influence engagement.
2. Observation of game-based activities: Participants explore different gaming environments, including board game cafés, challenge venues, puzzle experiences and professional game development organisations.
3. Reflection on skills and experiences: Facilitated activities encourage participants to identify the thinking, communication, collaboration and problem-solving opportunities associated with the experiences.
4. Introduction to professional game design: Participants learn about the processes involved in developing games, including brainstorming, prototyping, rule writing, visual design, testing and refinement.
5. Critical use of AI tools: Workshops introduce artificial intelligence as a possible support for brainstorming, storytelling, mechanic development, content generation and initial prototyping.
6. Collaborative game creation: Small groups develop original game concepts, define objectives, propose mechanics, create rules and prepare initial playable prototypes.
7. Iterative design: Teams review whether the rules work, identify potential problems and modify mechanics or components to improve the player experience.
8. International collaboration: Young people from Malta and Czechia participate in shared activities, exchange perspectives and learn from different local experiences.
9. Entrepreneurial analysis: Participants examine how existing game-related businesses and activities might address social needs or be adapted to different communities.
10. Community implementation: Board game libraries make recreational learning opportunities available through schools, youth organisations and community facilities.
11. Public presentation and feedback: Youth-developed games are presented to people outside the development teams, enabling public play and formative feedback.

PlayQuest methodology

PlayQuest was the project’s principal international learning experience, organised in Czechia in August 2025.

The activity combined a week-long international visit with a five-day programme of structured learning experiences.

Participants explored several complementary environments:

• The Grail: A specialist board game café where participants encountered recreational games, social interaction and a community-based gaming business model.
• Prison Island: A challenge-based recreational environment providing opportunities to practise communication, teamwork, problem-solving and decision-making under time pressure.
• MindMaze: A location-based puzzle experience connecting storytelling, cultural heritage, observation and collaborative problem-solving.
• Albi: A board game company where participants explored professional game creation, prototyping and the transition from initial concept to finished product.
• Dobříš AI and Board Game Design Workshop: A practical activity introducing artificial intelligence tools and collaborative game development, resulting in initial paper prototypes.

These experiences were not all board games. Their inclusion demonstrates the project’s broader experiential learning approach, while the recreational board games and game-design activities form the components most directly relevant to the Observatory.

Game-design learning process

The project documents a progression from experiencing games to understanding their design and subsequently creating original products.

During the workshop in Dobříš, participants explored how AI tools could support idea generation, storytelling, mechanics, rule writing, visuals, prototyping and testing.

Participants worked in groups to produce initial board game concepts and paper prototypes.

After the international experience, the Maltese team continued developing Erasmus Unleashed, while the Czech team created ErasmusVentures.

These processes required teams to discuss alternatives, distribute tasks, evaluate design decisions and make practical changes to their games.

Use of artificial intelligence

The project’s approach treats AI as a supporting tool rather than a substitute for creative participation.

Participants were encouraged to experiment with digital assistance while retaining responsibility for evaluating suggestions, selecting game mechanics and deciding what would make the final experience enjoyable and functional.

The Czech team’s development of ErasmusVentures provides a particularly clear example, as its creators retained direct control over illustration and visual design while using AI mainly for limited inspiration.

Facilitator’s role

Youth workers, trainers and partner organisations organise game sessions, introduce design activities, support group collaboration and facilitate practical reflection.

Professional contributors explain aspects of the board game industry and provide guidance on creative development, entrepreneurship and the use of digital technologies.

During game creation, facilitators can help participants clarify objectives, test prototypes, identify rule ambiguities and consider whether their design decisions produce meaningful player experiences.

The reviewed documentation does not establish a single standardised facilitator protocol for all the board games included in the libraries.

Reflection and debriefing

GAMECHANGERS explicitly incorporates structured reflection into PlayQuest.

After the different experiences, participants completed reflection forms addressing the activities they had undertaken, the skills they believed they had practised, possible applications of AI and the potential social value of similar initiatives.

Participants were encouraged to consider how an existing recreational activity might be adapted to another community or used to address a social need.

The reflection process therefore extended beyond enjoyment or satisfaction and included questions concerning social entrepreneurship, accessibility, creativity and practical adaptation.

However, these reflection forms were associated with the wider PlayQuest programme and should not be presented as a standardised debriefing protocol applied to every board game session or to the two newly developed games.

Distinctive methodological feature

GAMECHANGERS combines three mutually reinforcing processes: learning through existing recreational games, learning through the design of new games and learning through reflection on the social and entrepreneurial possibilities of game-based activities.

This approach gives the project particular relevance to research on both Board Game-Based Learning and Board Game Design-Based Learning.

GAMECHANGERS was implemented through an Erasmus+ partnership between Projekta 360 Ltd (Malta) and Veronika Liotard (Czechia), combining youth participation, modern board games, creative development, artificial intelligence and social entrepreneurship.

The project produced two youth-developed board games, established community game libraries and organised practical training, international learning and dissemination activities.

Implementation

• European consortium: The project was coordinated by Projekta 360 Ltd (Malta), working under the Projekta Malta identity, with Veronika Liotard (Czechia) as partner.
• Funding: GAMECHANGERS received an Erasmus+ KA210-YOU grant of EUR 60,000, confirmed by the Maltese National Agency’s official selection results.
• Initial development: Activities began in 2024, focusing on the educational possibilities of board games, youth participation, creative thinking and international cooperation.
• Malta Game On Games Library: The coordinator established a lending collection of recreational board games intended for schools, youth centres, NGOs and community organisations.
• Czech GameON Board Games Library: The Czech partner developed a decentralised lending system involving 25 sets and 175 board and card games distributed through schools, libraries, community centres and other local organisations.
• Library rotation: In Czechia, each set contained seven games and generally remained at one location for approximately six weeks before being returned and exchanged for another selection.
• Community access: Both libraries sought to improve access to games without requiring individual organisations to purchase extensive collections or maintain specialist gaming facilities.
• PlayQuest international programme: In August 2025, young participants from Malta and Czechia came together for a week of games, creative activities, entrepreneurship and international learning in Prague and surrounding locations.
• Learning through recreational experiences: Participants explored board game cafés, challenge-based environments, puzzle activities and the professional board game industry.
• Professional game development exposure: A visit to the Czech board game company Albi introduced participants to game creation, prototyping, playtesting and the development of commercial recreational products.
• AI and game-design workshop: A practical session in Dobříš introduced digital tools and AI-assisted game development. Working in groups, participants created initial paper prototypes.
• Development of Erasmus Unleashed: Ten Maltese participants continued developing one of the ideas generated during PlayQuest, designing a physical board game involving travel across Europe, cultural questions, challenges and item collection.
• Development of ErasmusVentures: The Czech team created a separate strategy game inspired by Erasmus+ experiences, developing new cards, illustrations, rules and resource-management mechanisms.
• Game testing and refinement: Both development processes involved revisions to game concepts, rules and components. The Czech prototype was also tested with people outside the development team.
• Public ErasmusVentures presentation: On 4 July 2026, the prototype was presented in Krásná Hora nad Vltavou, where members of the public could play and provide feedback.
• Malta public gaming event: In 2026, a free event at the Valletta Design Cluster brought together approximately 40 participants and included the public presentation and gameplay of Erasmus Unleashed.
• Digital learning resources: The project developed the A·I·nnovate section of its website, providing articles, tutorials and educational resources concerning AI-supported game design.
• Entrepreneurship reflection: PlayQuest participants evaluated the social value and potential transferability of selected recreational business models to their own communities.
• Post-project continuation: Following completion of the funded activities in 2026, GameOn.mt continued as a public learning platform and information resource.

Evaluation approach

GameChangers used structured participant reflection, formative feedback and practical testing to examine the experiences and results generated through its activities.

The strongest publicly available evaluation document is the PlayQuest Prague Complete Establishment Feedback & Growth Report.

The report presents 148 responses collected across eight activities and establishments, associated with 21 young people participating in the international learning programme.

These responses were collected through structured questionnaires completed after different experiences, not through a controlled experiment.

Areas examined

• Participants’ emotional experiences and reactions to each activity.
• Skills they perceived themselves as having practised, including teamwork, communication, creativity, problem-solving and time management.
• Possible applications of artificial intelligence to existing recreational and educational activities.
• The perceived social value of games-related businesses and community initiatives.
• Potential adaptations of Czech recreational concepts for implementation in Malta.
• Ideas for entrepreneurship, community participation and inclusion.

Social entrepreneurship findings

Maltese participants rated the perceived potential of selected experiences to operate as social enterprises in Malta on a five-point scale.

• Prison Island: 4.50 out of 5.
• MindMaze: 3.75 out of 5.
• Albi: 3.50 out of 5.
• The Grail: 3.10 out of 5.

These ratings describe participants’ perceptions after experiencing each activity. They do not constitute objective assessments of commercial feasibility, measured entrepreneurial competence or validated learning outcomes.

Game development evidence

The production of Erasmus Unleashed and ErasmusVentures provides tangible evidence that young participants engaged in collaborative game development.

The documented process included creating game concepts, drafting rules, designing components, balancing mechanics and preparing prototypes.

Public presentations provide further evidence that the games progressed beyond the initial design stage.

The ErasmusVentures event in July 2026 also provided opportunities to collect feedback from players who were not members of the development team.

However, the reviewed sources do not report a standardised usability evaluation with detailed game-performance metrics, participant samples or statistical analyses for either original game.

Evidence classification

Project identity and funding: Independently confirmed through the Maltese Erasmus+ National Agency.

Game development: Two original physical games documented, including a publicly presented Maltese game and a publicly tested Czech prototype.

Educational implementation: International learning, game-design workshops, public gaming events and community library initiatives documented.

Participant reflection: Structured feedback report available, comprising 148 responses across eight activities from 21 young people.

Learning outcomes: The reviewed sources do not establish objectively measured improvements in creativity, communication, teamwork, digital literacy, entrepreneurial competence or European awareness attributable to the intervention.

Long-term outcomes: No controlled longitudinal evidence was identified demonstrating sustained competence development, entrepreneurial activity or social inclusion attributable to participation.

Methodological limitations

The PlayQuest evaluation relies largely on self-reported perceptions and open-ended reflections.

The 148 responses represent repeated observations from a smaller group of participants and should not be treated as 148 independent individuals.

The reported skills refer to opportunities for practice and participants’ own perceptions rather than validated assessments of competence changes.

The activities were heterogeneous, including board games, escape-style challenges, tourism-related puzzles and game-design workshops. This makes it impossible to attribute any overall perceived benefits specifically to board gameplay.

Furthermore, the evaluation report acknowledges that differences in English-language proficiency may have affected how some Czech participants interpreted response options.

No suitable pre-test/post-test design or comparison group was identified for assessing whether playing board games or designing original games produced measurable improvements in the intended competencies.

The library programme documents the distribution of games and its operational model, but independently verified statistics on total borrowing, frequency of gameplay and educational outcomes were not identified.

Evidence status: Strong documentation of project outputs and practical implementation; structured exploratory feedback available; controlled learning-outcome evidence not established.

GAMECHANGERS provides educational and practical resources supporting modern board game use, collaborative game design, AI-assisted creativity, social entrepreneurship and community access to recreational games.

The project website continues to operate beyond the funded period, preserving information about its activities, results and learning resources.

Available resources

• Game On Project Results: A comprehensive overview of the project’s objectives, activities, learning opportunities, original games and continuing community resources.
• Erasmus Unleashed: An original physical educational board game developed by ten Maltese young people. The project publishes its development history, game narrative, principal mechanics, photographs and public presentation activities.
• ErasmusVentures: An original strategy game developed by the Czech partner team. Its documented development process includes the adaptation of existing mechanics, new card types, resource management, balancing, visual design and public prototype testing.
• Game On Games Library – Malta: A free lending collection of recreational board games intended for schools, youth organisations, NGOs and community groups.
• Malta Board Game Catalogue: An online catalogue presenting individual recreational games, classifications, recommended ages, player numbers, playing times and descriptions.
• GameON Czechia Board Games Library: Documentation describing a decentralised lending model involving 25 rotating sets and 175 board and card games.
• PlayQuest 2025 Programme: Information about the international learning experience in Czechia, including the activities, participating organisations and connections with game development and entrepreneurship.
• PlayQuest Chronicles: A collection of articles documenting practical experiences at board game cafés, game development companies, puzzle venues and creative workshops.
• AI + Board Games: From Idea to Prototype: A downloadable 41-page presentation introducing artificial intelligence tools for brainstorming, game concepts, storytelling, mechanics, rule writing, visual development, prototyping, testing and balancing.
• A·I·nnovate: An online collection of educational articles and tutorials concerning artificial intelligence and board game design.
• PlayQuest Prague Complete Feedback Report: A 23-page evaluation document presenting participant reflections, perceptions of skills practised, responses to recreational experiences and social entrepreneurship ideas.
• Social Entrepreneurship Through Games: An online analysis of participants’ reflections on the social value and potential adaptation of recreational business models.
• Community Event Documentation: Articles and photographs documenting public board game activities and the presentation of youth-developed games.
• Educational Game Reviews: Descriptions of existing commercial games, including their mechanics, accessibility characteristics and possible applications in group activities.
• Post-project Learning Platform: GameOn.mt continues to collect and organise game-related educational resources and information following the conclusion of the Erasmus+ funding period.

Availability of original game materials

Erasmus Unleashed has been developed as a physical game and publicly presented, while ErasmusVentures has been documented as a fully playable prototype.

However, as of 11 November 2026, the reviewed public pages do not provide independently accessible complete print-and-play packages for either game.

The Czech team reports that ErasmusVentures has English-language rules, but an operational public download link to those rules was not identified.

For Erasmus Unleashed, the development narrative and main game mechanisms are documented, but the full rulebook, questions, cards, board and printable components could not be independently retrieved.

Transferability

The project’s methodology offers opportunities for adaptation in youth organisations, schools, community centres and non-formal educational programmes.

The game-design workshop provides a practical example of using existing games to introduce mechanics before guiding participants towards the development of original prototypes.

The downloadable presentation and AI tutorials may support educators interested in organising comparable creative workshops.

The rotating game libraries provide a transferable organisational model for making recreational board games available to communities without requiring every organisation to purchase or store a large collection.

The entrepreneurial reflection materials also provide an example of encouraging young people to evaluate existing recreational activities in terms of social value and potential local adaptation.

Replicability assessment

The game-design methodology, project activities, community library models and PlayQuest reflection approach are documented through operational websites and downloadable resources.

However, independent reproduction of the two original games remains limited by the lack of verified complete downloadable game components.

The PlayQuest evaluation is comparatively well documented at the level of participant feedback, but it does not provide a controlled educational outcome assessment that could be directly replicated.

Replicability status: High for accessing the project methodology and operational library models; partial for the original physical games; limited for independent replication of learning-effectiveness evaluation.

Official educational resources:

• GameChangers – Project Results
• Game On – Malta Games Library
• GameON Czechia – Board Games Library
• AI + Board Games – Training Presentation
• PlayQuest – Complete Feedback Report

GAMECHANGERS represents a particularly interesting example of European Board Game-Based Learning because it combines the educational use of existing recreational board games with the active participation of young people in designing new games.

Its principal methodological contribution lies in establishing a progression from playing games to understanding their mechanics, developing creative ideas, constructing prototypes and critically evaluating their social and educational value.

The project also demonstrates how board games can support community initiatives without requiring every participating organisation to develop or purchase its own extensive collection.

Methodological strengths

1. Integration of Board Game-Based Learning and Board Game Design-Based Learning. One of the project’s most valuable characteristics is the combination of learning through gameplay and learning through game creation. Participants experience existing recreational games before applying their knowledge to the development of original products.
2. Active youth participation. Young people are directly involved in designing the games, defining objectives, creating rules, developing components and evaluating alternative solutions. The production of Erasmus Unleashed and ErasmusVentures provides tangible evidence of this participatory approach.
3. Learning through the complete design process. Participants encounter different stages of game creation, including brainstorming, storytelling, mechanics selection, rule writing, prototyping, testing, balancing and visual development. These activities create opportunities to practise creativity, communication, critical thinking and problem-solving.
4. Use of existing recreational games. The project recognises the educational possibilities of games that were originally developed for entertainment. Its community libraries provide a practical alternative to the exclusive creation of purpose-designed educational games.
5. Direct exposure to the board game industry. The PlayQuest programme introduced participants to professional game development and recreational businesses. This connection between learning and the real games industry is especially valuable for understanding how game ideas are transformed into functional products.
6. Transfer of existing game mechanics. ErasmusVentures illustrates how designers can analyse and transform mechanics from an existing recreational game. Drawing inspiration from Citadels, the Czech team developed a new thematic system based on Erasmus+ experiences, opportunities and resources.
7. Comparison of different educational game designs. The two original games provide examples of different approaches. Erasmus Unleashed introduces European knowledge primarily through questions and challenges, while ErasmusVentures places greater emphasis on strategic decisions and resource management.
8. Critical use of artificial intelligence. The project encourages young people to explore the opportunities and limitations of AI-supported design. Participants are expected to evaluate suggestions, make decisions and retain responsibility for the creative process rather than simply accept automatically generated outputs.
9. Intercultural cooperation. The international partnership creates opportunities for young people from Malta and Czechia to collaborate, exchange experiences and develop an understanding of other cultural contexts.
10. Structured reflection on social entrepreneurship. PlayQuest incorporates questions that encourage participants to identify social needs, examine existing business models and imagine how game-based initiatives might be adapted to different communities.
11. Community accessibility. The lending libraries remove some of the financial and organisational barriers associated with access to modern board games. Schools and youth organisations can use existing recreational games without purchasing extensive individual collections.
12. Decentralised resource sharing. The Czech library demonstrates a particularly interesting organisational model. Its rotating sets allow the same games to reach different communities, reducing the need for permanent specialist gaming facilities.
13. Public game testing. The presentation and testing of ErasmusVentures with external players provides opportunities to identify problems that may not have been evident to its creators. Public demonstrations of Erasmus Unleashed also extend the project beyond the original development group.
14. Post-project sustainability. The continued operation of GameOn.mt and its library-related resources after the funding period is an important strength, particularly compared with projects whose websites and educational outputs become inaccessible after completion.

Methodological limitations

1. Limited evidence of measurable competence development. The project documents many opportunities to practise creativity, teamwork, communication and problem-solving, but the available evidence does not establish that participants achieved objectively measurable improvements in these competences.

The successful production of a board game demonstrates creative activity and project completion, but does not automatically demonstrate changes in the underlying skills.

2. Heterogeneity of learning activities. PlayQuest combines board games, escape-style challenges, cultural exploration, visits to recreational businesses and game-design workshops.

Although this variety may enrich the experience, it makes it difficult to identify the specific contribution of analogue board gameplay to any reported learning outcomes.

3. Interpretation of repeated evaluation responses. The published PlayQuest report contains 148 responses from 21 participants across eight activities. These observations should not be treated as statistically independent individuals or interpreted as a large experimental sample.

The evaluation is valuable for understanding participant experiences, but it does not establish controlled effects on learning.

4. Absence of validated pre-test/post-test measures. The reviewed sources do not document a systematic assessment of competence changes using validated instruments before and after the activities.

Future research should distinguish participants’ perceptions of skills practised from objectively assessed changes in those competences.

5. Differences in intrinsic educational integration. The two original games illustrate different relationships between learning objectives and mechanics.

In Erasmus Unleashed, European knowledge is largely introduced through factual questions attached to an adventure and item-collection system.

In ErasmusVentures, opportunities and challenges related to Erasmus+ appear to be represented more directly through resource management and strategic decisions.

This distinction is relevant because the educational experience generated by answering factual questions differs from that generated by managing interdependent decisions within a game system.

6. Limited standardisation of educational implementation. Although game-design activities and reflection forms are documented, the reviewed sources do not establish a single replicable instructional protocol for using the original games or the commercial game libraries.

Educators may therefore employ different activities, durations and reflection procedures depending on their own experience and objectives.

7. Unverified educational impact of the community libraries. The Czech library documents the circulation of 175 games in 25 sets, providing strong evidence of an operational access model.

However, the number of available games does not establish how frequently they were played, how many individuals benefited or whether their use produced measurable educational outcomes.

8. Incomplete public access to the original games. The project provides detailed descriptions and photographs of Erasmus Unleashed and ErasmusVentures, but complete publicly downloadable rules and print-and-play materials were not independently identified.

This limits their immediate reproducibility by educators and organisations outside the partnership.

9. Need for quality criteria in AI-assisted game design. Artificial intelligence can support the production of ideas, text and visual content, but those outputs do not necessarily result in well-balanced, enjoyable or educationally effective games.

Human judgement, playtesting, iteration and accessibility assessment remain essential elements of the development process.

10. Limited evidence of sustained recreational use. The original games have been developed and publicly presented, but the reviewed sources do not establish whether they have subsequently been played regularly and voluntarily outside project events.

Recreational sustainability should be considered separately from the achievement of game-development milestones.

Ludus Magnus assessment

GAMECHANGERS is particularly relevant because it brings together two educational approaches that are often considered separately: using modern board games as learning environments and using board game design itself as a learning activity.

The project’s strongest methodological feature is the progression from practical gameplay to creative production.

Instead of introducing game design through theoretical instruction alone, young people first experience the decisions, challenges, interactions and emotions associated with existing recreational games.

They subsequently apply this experience to the development of their own games, creating a connection between observing game mechanics and making concrete design decisions.

This progression offers opportunities to practise creativity, communication, negotiation and problem-solving in a context where the participants are responsible for producing a functional result.

From a research perspective, however, it would be important to determine which competencies are actually improved by the design process and whether these changes exceed those achieved through gameplay alone or through other collaborative creative activities.

The two original games also provide a useful contrast in educational design.

Erasmus Unleashed adopts a relatively conventional approach to educational gameplay, using European questions and challenges within an adventure based on movement and collecting objects.

ErasmusVentures appears to integrate aspects of international project participation more directly into strategic decisions and resource management.

These differences provide an opportunity to investigate how the degree of integration between educational content and game mechanics influences learning, engagement and recreational appeal.

Another important contribution is the use of existing commercial games through community libraries.

The Czech library is particularly noteworthy because its decentralised system makes games available through institutions that already serve local populations. The same collection can support repeated recreational activities across different communities without requiring a permanent specialist venue.

This model has clear potential for adaptation by youth organisations, schools, adult education providers and community associations.

It also reflects an important methodological principle: the educational value of modern board games does not necessarily depend on developing new games specifically for educational purposes.

Existing recreational games can provide rich opportunities for decision-making, cooperation, negotiation and creative thinking when they are selected according to educational objectives and supported by appropriate facilitation.

At the same time, game-design activities can provide a complementary learning experience by requiring participants to analyse why mechanics work and how they might be adapted to new themes or objectives.

The use of artificial intelligence is an additional feature worth examining. Rather than focusing exclusively on automatic content generation, the project presents AI as a tool that can support creativity while leaving final decisions to human participants.

This approach is consistent with treating game design as a learning process rather than merely an exercise in producing a finished artefact.

Finally, GAMECHANGERS provides an interesting example of connecting modern board games with social entrepreneurship and community inclusion.

Participants were encouraged to evaluate how existing recreational activities might respond to social needs and be adapted to local circumstances.

Although these exercises do not demonstrate entrepreneurial competence or commercial viability, they introduce an additional dimension of critical reflection beyond playing games or designing them.

Transferable methodological lesson: Board Game-Based Learning can be strengthened by connecting gameplay with participatory game design, critical reflection and real-world community applications. Existing recreational games provide valuable learning environments and design references, while youth-developed games offer opportunities for creative production. These approaches should be evaluated separately, with attention to actual competence development, recreational quality, accessibility and sustainable access to the resulting resources.