GENTLY

Funding programme

Erasmus+ KA220-YOU – Cooperation Partnerships in Youth

Project reference

2021-1-DE04-KA220-YOU-000029143

Period

2021–2024

Coordinating organisation

IN2 Digital Innovations GmbH (Germany)

Participating countries

Germany, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Spain

Official project website

Visit official website

GENTLY aimed to improve environmental awareness, energy literacy and knowledge of sustainable practices among young people through non-formal education supported by physical and digital games.

The project focused on the European Green Deal, climate change, energy efficiency and everyday environmental decisions, while also strengthening the competences of youth workers in game-based educational approaches.

Specific learning objectives

• Environmental awareness: Increase knowledge of climate change, pollution, environmental degradation and their consequences at local, national and European levels.
• Energy efficiency: Familiarise participants with energy-saving practices and ways of reducing unnecessary energy consumption in households, organisations and everyday activities.
• European Green Deal literacy: Introduce the objectives and practical implications of European environmental policies, particularly those relating to climate neutrality and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Sustainable consumption: Promote awareness of responsible consumption, waste prevention, recycling, resource conservation and environmentally preferable alternatives.
• Understanding national environmental contexts: Encourage participants to learn about environmental challenges, initiatives and good practices in seven European countries.
• Environmental decision-making: Support critical reflection on individual and collective actions that can contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development.
• Intercultural understanding: Encourage participants to recognise similarities and differences between environmental challenges and sustainability initiatives across European countries.
• Inclusive environmental education: Provide accessible learning opportunities for young people with fewer opportunities, including those with visual impairments.
• Youth worker competences: Equip youth workers with game-based learning tools and knowledge that can be incorporated into non-formal environmental education activities.
• Professional sustainability practices: Introduce examples of environmental responsibility and energy-efficiency measures implemented by organisations and businesses.
• Motivation for environmental action: Encourage young people to consider practical changes in their behaviour and participate in environmental initiatives within their communities.

The project aligned its educational objectives particularly with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action).

GENTLY developed an original educational board game focused on environmental awareness, climate change and energy efficiency, accompanied by a digital adaptation, an accessible version for visually impaired players and an extended version addressing professional sustainability practices.

Games and versions developed

1. GENTLY Board Game – General Version (PR2): A competitive educational board game in which players answer questions about environmental problems, energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives in seven European countries: Germany, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Spain. Its design follows a quiz-based approach resembling traditional trivia games. Players move around a board, answer country-specific questions and collect cards representing the participating countries.
2. GENTLY Digital Game (PR2): A digital adaptation of the physical board game developed using the Unity game engine. It reproduces the core gameplay through a virtual board and supports online multiplayer sessions with up to four players. Participants create or join virtual rooms, roll virtual dice, answer environmental questions and collect country cards. Versions were developed for Windows, macOS and Linux.
3. GENTLY Accessible Game (PR3): An adaptation of the original board game designed to facilitate participation by young people with visual impairments. Its development included consultation with specialist organisations and modifications to the physical components, including distinctive pawn shapes, tactile elements, high-contrast dice, Braille materials and accessible instructions. Both full and shorter country-specific versions were considered to accommodate different participants and session requirements.
4. GENTLY Professional Game (PR4): An extended version of the original board game designed to introduce environmental practices in professional and organisational contexts. It retains the fundamental board game structure and country-card collection system while incorporating questions about corporate sustainability initiatives, environmental management, energy efficiency and practical examples of green business practices.

Core board game mechanics

• Dice rolling and movement: Players roll a die to move their pawns around the board.
• Country-specific questions: Each country has a separate set of cards containing questions about environmental challenges and sustainability practices.
• Multiple-choice knowledge challenges: Players must answer questions correctly to obtain cards representing the different countries.
• Set collection: The objective is to collect one card from each of the seven participating countries.
• Player interaction: In the physical game, another player reads the questions, creating opportunities for communication and shared exposure to environmental information.
• Variable movement: Players may move forwards or backwards within the permitted movement distance, introducing a limited element of tactical choice.
• Special spaces: Certain board spaces provide additional turns or allow players to select questions from a country of their choice.

Game structure and components

The documented physical game includes one board, seven sets of country cards, four pawns and a die. Players begin in the centre of the board, take turns rolling the die and attempt to answer questions corresponding to the spaces they reach.

A correct answer allows the player to keep the relevant country card and take another turn. An incorrect answer ends the player’s turn. The first player to collect all seven country cards wins.

Number of players: Up to four players, based on the physical components and multiplayer digital implementation.

Playing time: A standard duration was not established in the reviewed documentation.

Game approach: Custom-designed educational board game, with digital enhancement and adaptations for accessibility and professional learning.

Educational integration: Environmental information is primarily conveyed through question cards and correct-answer feedback. The game’s movement, turn-taking and collection mechanics provide a recreational structure for engaging with educational content.

Availability: The project provides downloadable documentation, question-card materials and desktop digital game packages. The accessibility report documents additional adapted physical components and materials.

Official game documentation: PR2 – Board and Application Games.

GENTLY adopts a non-formal Board Game-Based Learning approach in which environmental knowledge is introduced through competitive quiz-based gameplay, supported by digital tools, multilingual resources and inclusive adaptations.

The methodology combines preliminary research into learners’ needs, collaborative educational game development, practical training, iterative playtesting and dissemination through youth organisations and educational settings.

Methodological approach

1. Needs analysis: The consortium conducted research across seven European countries to identify young people’s environmental knowledge, concerns, attitudes and educational needs. Separate investigations considered young people with visual impairments and young people in professional contexts.
2. Development of educational content: Partners created country-specific questions addressing environmental challenges, energy efficiency, climate change, European Green Deal practices and examples of sustainable behaviour.
3. Collaborative game development: The educational content was incorporated into a physical board game based on dice-driven movement, multiple-choice questions and the collection of cards from seven countries.
4. Game-based knowledge acquisition: Players encounter environmental information through questions corresponding to different countries. Correct answers contribute to progress towards the game’s winning objective.
5. International perspective: The game exposes participants to environmental issues and practices from different European contexts, encouraging knowledge of shared challenges and country-specific initiatives.
6. Digital implementation: A computer-based multiplayer version reproduces the physical game’s core mechanics and allows remote participation.
7. Inclusive adaptation: The original game was modified to accommodate visually impaired players through tactile components, Braille resources, distinctive pawn shapes, accessible dice and alternative formats.
8. Professional extension: An advanced version introduces examples of environmental responsibility in companies and working environments while retaining the original game’s basic structure.
9. Iterative testing and refinement: Feedback from players, youth workers and accessibility specialists was used to modify rules, components, question difficulty and aspects of the overall game experience.

Game session structure

In the physical version, players select their pawns, prepare the seven country-specific card decks and begin in the centre of the board.

Each turn involves rolling a die, moving the pawn, drawing a question card associated with the country indicated by the destination space and attempting to answer correctly.

Players collect country cards through successful answers. The first player to obtain a card representing each of the seven countries wins.

The project also organised training events in which facilitators introduced environmental themes, explained the educational resources and allowed participants to play and test the games.

However, the reviewed documentation does not establish a single mandatory session duration or standardised educational sequence consistently applied in every partner country.

Facilitator’s role

Youth workers and educators introduce the environmental themes, explain game rules, organise participants, support gameplay and help players understand the information presented on the cards.

They may also facilitate discussion of country-specific environmental challenges and encourage learners to relate the information encountered during gameplay to their own experiences and everyday decisions.

For sessions involving visually impaired participants, facilitators should ensure that appropriate accessible materials are available and that participants can use their preferred reading and interaction methods.

The international training activities also aimed to familiarise youth workers with the games and support their use in non-formal learning contexts.

Reflection and debriefing

The project documentation emphasises environmental awareness, discussion and motivation for sustainable action. However, it does not provide sufficient evidence of a standardised, mandatory post-game debriefing protocol.

Facilitators can use the questions and country-specific information to encourage discussion about environmental problems, policy responses, differences between countries and possible changes in individual behaviour.

Such activities represent educational opportunities compatible with the project objectives, rather than a formally evaluated debriefing procedure documented across all implementations.

Distinctive methodological feature

GENTLY combines traditional knowledge-based board game mechanics with multilingual environmental content and a structured accessibility adaptation process.

Its strongest methodological contribution is not the complexity of the underlying game mechanics, but the international development of educational content and the incorporation of accessibility considerations into an existing physical game design.

GENTLY was implemented through a partnership of seven organisations from Germany, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Spain, combining expertise in digital innovation, youth work, environmental education and social inclusion.

The project followed a research-informed development process involving needs assessment, collaborative game design, iterative testing, accessibility adaptation, youth worker training and international dissemination.

Implementation

• European consortium: The project was coordinated by IN2 Digital Innovations GmbH (Germany), with SEAL Cyprus (Cyprus), Fifty-Fifty Social Innovation and Cohesion Institute (Greece), Active Youth (Lithuania), Ecocenter Alapítvány (Hungary), ASEL Romania (Romania) and ACD La Hoya (Spain).
• Initial youth needs assessment (PR1): A multilingual survey collected 175 responses from young people aged 15–30 across participating countries. The research examined environmental awareness, concerns about climate change, knowledge of sustainability practices and potential actions to protect the environment.
• Game development (PR2): Partners collaboratively designed an educational board game incorporating country-specific environmental questions. Physical prototypes were tested and refined following feedback from users.
• Digital development (PR2): A multiplayer digital version was developed using Unity, reproducing the main board game mechanics and supporting remote gameplay with up to four participants.
• Accessibility needs assessment (PR3): A survey involving 67 respondents examined the needs and preferences of people with visual impairments, including the use of Braille, screen readers, smartphones and other assistive technologies.
• Accessible game development (PR3): SEAL Cyprus coordinated the adaptation of the physical game, consulting the St Varnavas School for the Blind in Nicosia and the Pancyprian Organization of the Blind.
• Accessible game testing: An adapted version was tested in Cyprus with educators, facilitators, students and other participants. The project reported favourable feedback regarding playability, interaction and accessibility.
• Professional needs assessment (PR4): A survey involving 137 respondents investigated environmental knowledge, energy-efficiency practices and sustainability-related learning needs in professional contexts.
• Professional game development (PR4): An extended version of the original board game was produced with additional questions addressing sustainability practices implemented by companies and organisations in the partner countries.
• International training in Greece: A three-day training activity took place in Thessaloniki on 9–11 May 2023. Youth workers and other participants explored environmental issues, became familiar with the developed games and participated in practical testing activities.
• Training and testing in Cyprus: Additional training and evaluation activities involved youth workers and participants working with the educational games and accessibility adaptations.
• Implementation in Spain: ACD La Hoya organised several educational dissemination activities in Elche during October and November 2023. The project website reports activities involving 15 participants at a vocational education centre, 22 at Asunción School and 19 at Montserrat Roig School. An additional presentation at Academia Ripollés involved 24 participants.
• International dissemination: Multiplier events were organised across the seven participating countries. The project also presented its results at academic conferences, including the IAFOR International Conference on Education in January 2024.
• Scientific dissemination: Geramani, Ioannidis and Petrus published a conference paper in 2024 describing the design, implementation, testing, inclusive adaptation and lessons learned from the GENTLY game.

Evaluation approach

The project used an iterative development and evaluation process combining participant feedback, observations during gameplay, needs assessment surveys and questionnaires completed after training activities.

Evaluation focused primarily on perceived usefulness, engagement, enjoyment, playability, accessibility and satisfaction with the training experience.

The PR2 report provides descriptive results from questionnaires completed after training sessions in Greece and Cyprus.

Reported participant feedback

• Engaging training content: 93.8% of respondents gave a positive response.
• Clearly defined session objectives: 81.3% responded positively.
• Well-planned daily schedule: 81.3% responded positively.
• Welcoming group environment: 100% responded positively.
• Trainer preparation: 81.3% provided positive feedback.
• Facilitation of interaction: 87.5% considered the trainers effective in promoting participation and interaction.

The report also presents favourable self-reported responses concerning the acquisition of knowledge and skills, although the results are not supported by objective pre-test/post-test learning measurements.

Scientific publication: Geramani et al. (2024)

The conference paper Game Based Learning for Raising Environmental Consciousness describes the collaborative development of the board game, its digital version and the accessible adaptation for visually impaired participants.

The authors report that young people from the seven participating countries tested the game and that feedback was used to improve rules, components, question difficulty and the overall flow of gameplay.

The publication also describes testing of the accessible version with teachers, students, facilitators and other participants, reporting favourable impressions of its playability and accessibility.

However, the paper does not present a controlled intervention comparing changes in environmental knowledge or behaviour between players and non-players.

Evidence classification

Implementation: Documented international training, game development, pilot testing, accessibility adaptation and educational dissemination.

User experience: Positive participant feedback concerning engagement, satisfaction, perceived learning and accessibility.

Learning outcomes: Not established through a controlled comparative study or validated objective pre-test/post-test assessment in the reviewed sources.

Behavioural outcomes: No sufficiently documented longitudinal evidence was identified demonstrating sustained changes in energy consumption, environmental practices or other environmentally relevant behaviours attributable to gameplay.

Limitations

The reported evaluation results are predominantly descriptive and based on participant perceptions. The documentation does not provide sufficient methodological information to establish representative sampling, validated learning-outcome instruments or a controlled evaluation design.

The needs assessment surveys conducted during the project should not be interpreted as evidence of the effectiveness of the games, as they primarily informed educational content and accessibility design.

Similarly, favourable reports from the testing of the accessible version support preliminary usability but do not demonstrate accessibility across all possible visual impairments or educational contexts.

Consequently, the findings support conclusions about practical implementation, feasibility and participant reception, but not definitive claims regarding educational effectiveness or sustained environmental behaviour change.

GENTLY provides a collection of multilingual educational resources focused on environmental awareness, energy efficiency, sustainable practices and inclusive game-based learning.

Available resources

• PR1 – Field Research: A research report examining young people’s environmental knowledge, attitudes, concerns and educational needs in the seven participating countries. The document also includes country-level analysis and the questionnaires used during the research.
• PR1 – Environmental Education eBook: A complementary digital publication designed to disseminate the findings and support the development of environmental knowledge and awareness.
• PR2 – Board and Application Games: A methodological report documenting the design, development, mechanics, rules, educational content and evaluation of the original GENTLY board game and its digital adaptation.
• GENTLY Board Game: An educational quiz-based game addressing environmental challenges and sustainable practices through country-specific questions and card collection.
• Multilingual Question Cards: Question collections covering environmental issues and sustainability practices in Germany, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Spain. Materials are referenced in English, German, Greek, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Romanian and Spanish.
• GENTLY Digital Game: A multiplayer computer game developed in Unity, with versions published for Windows, macOS and Linux.
• PR3 – Alternative Board and Application Games: A report describing needs assessment, consultations and adaptations intended to make the original board game more accessible to visually impaired participants.
• Accessible Game Materials: Documentation of adapted pawn shapes, tactile and high-contrast components, Braille cards, accessible rules and alternative game formats.
• PR4 – Professional Games: A report containing research on professional sustainability practices, environmental learning needs and the development of an extended version of the original game.
• Professional Question Cards: Multilingual cards addressing corporate environmental responsibility, energy efficiency and practical sustainability initiatives within organisations.
• Training and dissemination resources: Newsletters and project reports documenting international training, game testing, multiplier events and educational applications.
• Scientific publication: A conference paper published in the IAFOR International Conference on Education proceedings in 2024, documenting the development, testing and accessibility adaptations of the game.

Transferability

The publication of multilingual documentation and question-card collections facilitates the reuse of GENTLY’s environmental content in different educational and geographical contexts.

The relatively straightforward game structure may allow youth workers and educators to introduce the activity without requiring extensive previous experience in modern board games.

The accessible game documentation is particularly relevant because it describes a needs-informed adaptation process involving consultation with specialist organisations and users with visual impairments.

The professional game also illustrates how an existing educational game can be extended to different target groups by modifying its content while retaining the underlying mechanics.

Replicability assessment

The project’s rules, methodology, question-card content and accessibility adaptations are publicly documented. However, the current availability of a complete, ready-to-print package containing every physical component could not be independently established.

The digital game’s installation packages are linked from the official website, although their operation on current computer systems has not been independently tested.

Game-level replication is therefore partially supported by available documentation and resources, while complete reproduction and methodological replication require additional verification.

Official resources: GENTLY – Project website and educational materials.

GENTLY represents an example of European Board Game-Based Learning focused on environmental awareness, combining a familiar quiz-based game structure with multilingual educational content, digital adaptation and accessibility-oriented game design.

Its principal methodological contribution lies in the international development of educational materials and the systematic consideration of accessibility, rather than in the originality or complexity of its game mechanics.

Methodological strengths

1. Accessible and familiar game structure. The game relies on straightforward mechanics such as dice rolling, pawn movement, question answering and card collection. This familiarity may facilitate participation by young people and youth workers with limited previous experience of contemporary board games.
2. European comparative perspective. The use of country-specific questions introduces participants to environmental challenges and sustainability practices in seven European contexts. This approach provides opportunities for intercultural learning and the recognition of shared environmental concerns.
3. Research-informed content development. The consortium conducted needs assessment surveys before developing the educational materials. Although these surveys do not constitute an effectiveness evaluation, they demonstrate an attempt to align game content with learners’ knowledge, concerns and interests.
4. Participatory and iterative design. Young people and other stakeholders participated in testing the game, providing feedback on its components, rules and overall experience. This supported successive refinements rather than relying exclusively on the designers’ initial assumptions.
5. Accessibility as a design objective. The development of a version for visually impaired players is one of the project’s most valuable methodological elements. The adaptations include tactile components, Braille materials, high-contrast dice, distinctive pawn shapes and alternative game formats.
6. Consultation with specialist organisations. The involvement of a school for visually impaired learners and an organisation representing blind people provided relevant practical expertise during the adaptation process.
7. Inclusive interaction. The accessible version was intended to allow people with different levels of visual ability to participate in the same game experience, rather than creating a completely separate educational activity.
8. Digital adaptation. The development of a multiplayer digital version extends access to the game’s educational content and offers possibilities for remote participation.
9. Adaptation to professional learning. The professional version illustrates how existing game mechanics can be reused with different educational content, including examples of environmental responsibility in companies and organisations.
10. Multilingual dissemination. Educational resources produced in seven languages facilitate transfer between participating countries and support broader European access.

Methodological limitations

1. Limited intrinsic integration of learning and gameplay. The main educational content is presented through multiple-choice questions. The game’s core mechanics, including rolling dice, moving pawns and collecting cards, are largely independent of the environmental concepts being taught.

Unlike educational games in which players must manage resources, reduce emissions or balance environmental and economic consequences through game decisions, GENTLY primarily rewards the identification of correct answers.

This does not prevent knowledge acquisition, but it represents a weaker form of integration between learning objectives and game mechanics.

2. Dependence on factual knowledge. Successful gameplay depends substantially on answering country-specific questions correctly. Players with greater previous knowledge may therefore have an advantage unrelated to the development of new reasoning or decision-making competences during the session.

3. Limited simulation of environmental decisions. Although the project addresses energy efficiency and sustainability, the game does not directly simulate the consequences of resource consumption, pollution reduction or competing environmental policies through its central mechanics.

Consequently, the relationship between gameplay and the development of practical environmental decision-making skills remains indirect.

4. Potential obsolescence of educational content. Some questions concern country-specific statistics, environmental policies and organisational practices that may change over time. Without regular review and updating, parts of the question database may become outdated.

5. Limited evidence of educational effectiveness. The project reports positive feedback concerning enjoyment, engagement, perceived learning and accessibility, but no controlled study demonstrating objective improvements in environmental knowledge or behaviour was identified in the reviewed sources.

6. Accessibility requires continuous validation. The adapted version demonstrates an informed approach to accessibility, but positive feedback from a limited number of testing activities does not establish that the game is equally accessible to all visually impaired players.

Different visual conditions, previous experience with Braille, assistive technology preferences and individual needs may require further adjustments.

7. Uncertain recreational appeal beyond educational settings. The available documentation does not establish whether young people would voluntarily choose to play GENTLY repeatedly outside organised educational activities. The simplicity of its trivia-based structure may facilitate initial participation but does not necessarily guarantee sustained recreational engagement.

8. Partial documentation of physical replication. Although the project provides detailed methodological reports and question-card resources, the availability of all physical components in a complete ready-to-print package was not independently confirmed.

Ludus Magnus assessment

GENTLY is particularly relevant to the European Board-Game-Based Learning Observatory for two reasons: its international approach to environmental education and its documented effort to make an educational board game accessible to people with visual impairments.

From a game-design perspective, however, the project illustrates an important limitation frequently encountered in purpose-designed educational games: the educational content is incorporated into a conventional question-and-answer system rather than being structurally embedded in the game’s mechanics.

Answering a question about energy consumption can improve knowledge of sustainability, but it does not necessarily require players to make sustainable decisions, experience environmental trade-offs or observe the consequences of their actions.

For educational objectives related to awareness and factual knowledge, a quiz-based approach can be appropriate. For more complex objectives, such as understanding environmental systems, managing energy resources or evaluating competing sustainability strategies, games involving meaningful resource management, strategic planning and consequences may offer stronger opportunities for experiential learning.

The project’s accessibility work is nevertheless a valuable contribution that can inform both the development of original educational games and the adaptation of existing recreational board games.

Its use of tactile components, accessible information and consultation with people with visual impairments provides transferable design principles that extend beyond environmental education.

The project also raises an interesting methodological opportunity: instead of developing separate accessible educational games, existing commercial board games with strong recreational mechanics could be adapted through accessible components and appropriate pedagogical resources.

Transferable methodological lesson: Quiz-based board games can provide an accessible entry point for environmental awareness and factual learning, but their educational potential should not be confused with the experiential learning offered by games whose mechanics directly represent the systems being studied. At the same time, GENTLY demonstrates the importance of accessibility-informed design, stakeholder consultation and inclusive game adaptation as essential considerations in Board Game-Based Learning.