LoGaCulture

Funding programme

Horizon Europe – Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society; Research and Innovation Action (RIA)

Project reference

101094036

Period

2023–2026

Coordinating organisation

Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal)

Participating countries

Portugal, Ireland, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom

Official project website

Visit official website

LoGaCulture (Locative Games for Cultural Heritage) aimed to investigate how interactive games, location-based experiences, storytelling and responsible digital technologies can improve public engagement with European cultural and natural heritage.

The project combined research on visitor experiences, heritage interpretation, ethical design, immersive technologies and participatory storytelling across cultural and natural heritage sites in Portugal, Ireland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Within this wider programme, LoGaCulture developed two original physical board games: Rock, Paper, Pigeon (RoPPi) and On Location.

The games address complementary learning objectives: RoPPi explores ecological and cultural heritage through imaginative storytelling, while On Location addresses ethical decision-making in the design of cultural heritage experiences.

Specific learning objectives

• Cultural heritage awareness: Encourage participants to explore the meanings, histories and cultural significance of different places.
• Natural heritage awareness: Increase understanding of relationships between landscapes, biodiversity, ecological processes and human societies.
• Natureculture perspectives: Examine how natural and cultural heritage are interconnected rather than completely separate domains.
• Ecological perspective-taking: Explore landscapes and environmental relationships from the viewpoints of animals, water, geological formations and other nonhuman entities.
• Creative storytelling: Develop narratives inspired by real places, cultural memories, environmental processes and imaginative situations.
• Narrative literacy: Practise organising stories through characters, settings, challenges, transformations and conclusions.
• Critical reflection: Question established assumptions about whose perspectives are represented in heritage interpretation.
• Heritage participation: Encourage visitors to contribute their own narratives and interpretations rather than only receiving information.
• Local knowledge: Create opportunities to express personal experiences, memories and knowledge of heritage landscapes.
• Environmental reflection: Consider the effects of human activity on ecosystems, natural heritage and relationships between species.
• Inclusive heritage interpretation: Explore how heritage experiences can respond to different audiences, abilities and forms of participation.
• Ethical design: Identify dilemmas associated with digital and mixed-reality experiences at cultural heritage sites.
• Responsible innovation: Consider how technological design choices can affect visitors, communities, cultural institutions and the environment.
• Collaborative decision-making: Practise discussing possible responses to heritage-related challenges with other participants.
• Argumentation: Explain and defend decisions through reasoned discussion of alternatives.
• Negotiation: Consider competing interests and perspectives when making decisions about cultural heritage experiences.
• Trust and cooperation: Explore how hidden interests and strategic behaviour may influence collective decisions.
• Professional awareness: Help researchers, educators, designers and heritage practitioners consider the consequences of their work.
• Participatory research: Examine how games can function as tools for collecting stories, observations and qualitative information about heritage experiences.

Learning objectives associated with RoPPi

Rock, Paper, Pigeon focuses on imaginative engagement with the natural and cultural heritage of Madeira.

Participants adopt nonhuman perspectives, navigate a representation of the island and create narratives inspired by ecological, sensory and cultural prompts.

Its principal objectives concern creative expression, ecological reflection, perspective-taking and awareness of the relationships between natural environments and human histories.

Learning objectives associated with On Location

On Location addresses ethical decision-making during the design of a fictional mixed-reality experience for a cultural heritage site.

Players evaluate ethical dilemmas, propose alternative tactics, debate their implications and negotiate decisions while pursuing partially hidden interests.

Its principal objectives concern ethical awareness, argumentation, stakeholder perspectives, collaborative decision-making and critical reflection on heritage technologies.

Overall educational approach

The two games do not rely primarily on memorising historical facts or answering factual questions.

Instead, they use storytelling, role adoption, perspective-taking, debate and decision-making to create participatory experiences connected with heritage interpretation.

Their intended learning objectives should be distinguished from empirically demonstrated outcomes. LoGaCulture provides qualitative research on RoPPi, but controlled evidence of measurable learning gains has not been established for both games.

LoGaCulture developed two original physical educational board games: Rock, Paper, Pigeon (RoPPi) and On Location.

The games were developed by different research teams within the Horizon Europe project and address complementary dimensions of cultural heritage: participatory storytelling and ecological interpretation in RoPPi, and ethical decision-making about heritage experience design in On Location.

1. Rock, Paper, Pigeon (RoPPi) – Natureculture Heritage Storytelling Game

RoPPi is a board-based storytelling game developed by researchers associated with the University of Lisbon and the Interactive Technologies Institute.

The game is situated in the Madeira Archipelago and draws on the island’s natural landscapes, biodiversity, historical places, traditions and relationships between people and the environment.

Its principal educational characteristic is the adoption of more-than-human perspectives. Players create stories from the viewpoint of entities such as animals, water and volcanic rocks.

Documented game characteristics

• Game type: Custom-designed physical storytelling board game.
• Game format: Printable map board, character cards, prompts, dice, tokens and writing sheets.
• Recommended age: 12 years and above, according to the published printable materials.
• Player count: 1–7 players in the published physical game instructions.
• Educational theme: Natural and cultural heritage, ecological relationships, perspective-taking and creative storytelling.
• Setting: Madeira’s natural and cultural landscapes.
• Learning approach: Participatory, speculative and role-based storytelling.
• Session duration: Approximately 60 minutes in the documented 2026 research sessions; this should not be interpreted as a universally prescribed playing time.
• Game versions: Three principal printable iterations, followed by a digital adaptation.

Main physical components

• A map board representing Madeira.
• Character cards and associated tokens.
• Story prompt cards organised by theme.
• Player writing sheets.
• Dice controlling board progression and writing activities.
• Materials for developing and sharing the final stories.

Final game characters

The developed game includes nonhuman entities connected with Madeira’s natural environment. Documented characters include:

• Monk seal.
• Trocaz pigeon.
• Zino’s petrel.
• Iberian green frog.
• Water.
• Volcanic rock.

These characters provide different perspectives from which participants can imagine relationships between ecosystems, landscapes and human activities.

Main game mechanics

1. Character embodiment: Players adopt nonhuman characters and construct stories from their perspectives.
2. Map-based progression: Participants move across a representation of Madeira.
3. Dice-based movement: Dice influence progression and the rhythm of gameplay.
4. Timed writing challenges: The final version incorporates a die associated with time-limited writing activities.
5. Thematic prompts: Players respond to cards associated with nature, sensory experiences, actions and existential considerations.
6. Structured narrative progression: Stories develop through a simplified version of the Hero’s Journey.
7. Speculative storytelling: Participants imagine situations that connect nonhuman perspectives with recognisable environments.
8. Individual or shared authorship: Documented editions support individual stories and group storytelling.
9. Story sharing: Participants communicate their final narratives to the group.
10. Reflection: The activity concludes with consideration of the character’s experiences and their relationship with the natural world.

Narrative structure

The final physical version organises gameplay around six principal stages:

1. Call to Adventure.
2. Crossing the Threshold.
3. Meeting the Mentor.
4. Trials and Growth.
5. Death and Transformation.
6. Change and Return.

These stages create a framework for developing coherent stories while allowing participants to respond creatively to unpredictable situations.

Development and game versions

The game evolved through a Research through Design process involving several physical prototypes and user tests.

The first version explored personal stories and memories connected with Madeira’s Levada walking routes.

The second version introduced a more explicit map-based narrative structure, heritage locations and thematic prompts.

The final version strengthened the emphasis on nonhuman perspectives and combined movement, timed challenges, narrative stages and post-story reflection.

The project also developed a digital version with individual and multiplayer storytelling modes. This digital companion should be distinguished from the physical board game when classifying BGBL resources.

Educational evidence

A peer-reviewed study published in November 2026 examined RoPPi through gameplay sessions involving biologists and interdisciplinary design professionals.

The study provides qualitative evidence concerning the narratives generated during play and participants’ reflections on ecological relationships.

RoPPi – Official Game Description, Design Process and Printable Versions

RoPPi – Scientific Evaluation Published in People and Nature (2026)

2. On Location – Ethics Board Game for Cultural Heritage Design

On Location is an original cooperative-with-a-twist board game developed by a research team from the University of Southampton.

The game presents participants with the fictional challenge of designing a mixed-reality experience for a cultural heritage attraction.

Players must select and defend tactics for addressing ethical dilemmas, while pursuing secret role-specific objectives.

One possible role is the Troll, a hidden saboteur whose victory can override the success of the other players.

Documented game characteristics

• Game type: Custom-designed asymmetric hidden-role board game.
• Players: 3–4.
• Educational theme: Ethical design of digital and mixed-reality experiences for cultural heritage.
• Central challenge: Resolve ethical dilemmas encountered while creating a heritage experience.
• Gameplay length: Six Conundrums for three-player games or eight for four-player games.
• Playing time: Not specified in the verified public rulebook.
• Interaction: Discussion, argumentation, negotiation, persuasion and hidden-role strategy.
• Availability: Printable game board, rulebook and card files published by LoGaCulture.

Two documented scenarios

• Dalmeney Island: A fictional island with natural and ancient human cultural heritage.
• Usperling Museum: A fictional natural history museum in a modern city.

Main game components

• A physical game board.
• Conundrum Cards representing ethical dilemmas.
• Hidden Role Cards defining individual victory conditions.
• Colour-coded Tactic Cards linked to broader ethical Strategies.
• A shared Tactical Pool of five face-up cards.
• Player tokens or coloured cubes.
• A Visitor token used to track progress.
• A downloadable rulebook.

Main game mechanics

1. Hidden asymmetric roles: Players receive secret identities with different victory conditions.
2. Scenario selection: A fictional heritage context is chosen before gameplay.
3. Ethical dilemmas: Conundrum Cards present problems requiring consideration and debate.
4. Hand management: Players choose Tactic Cards from a personal hand of five cards.
5. Simultaneous commitment: Tactics must be selected before discussion officially begins.
6. Argumentation: Players justify why their chosen tactic is appropriate for the dilemma.
7. Rotating leadership: The Project Leader changes between rounds and selects the preferred tactic.
8. Card selection and replacement: Players replenish their hands using either the face-up Tactical Pool or the face-down deck.
9. Token placement: The player whose tactic is selected marks the decision with a coloured cube.
10. Social deduction: Players must consider the possibility that one participant is pursuing a hidden disruptive objective.
11. Asymmetric victory: Different roles can achieve different success conditions.
12. Sabotage condition: If the Troll succeeds, the other players lose even if they have otherwise fulfilled their role requirements.

Educational interpretation

On Location integrates ethical heritage design into the game’s core interaction.

Players do not merely answer factual questions about professional ethics. They must select, argue for and defend possible approaches to ethical problems within a simulated project team.

The hidden-role system introduces tension between collective decision-making and individual incentives.

However, the existence of complete rules and game materials does not establish that the game has been independently evaluated for educational effectiveness.

Official resources

On Location – Official Game Page and Printable Materials

On Location – Complete Public Rulebook (PDF)

Overall game approach

The appropriate classification is Custom-Designed Educational Games.

Both RoPPi and On Location are original tabletop games developed within LoGaCulture, not adaptations of commercial board games.

LoGaCulture adopted a research-informed Game-Based Learning approach that combines participatory storytelling, interactive heritage interpretation, ethical design and qualitative inquiry.

The project explored how games can move heritage interpretation beyond the passive reception of information by encouraging participants to produce narratives, adopt different perspectives and make decisions within structured playful environments.

Its two physical board games, RoPPi and On Location, employ different pedagogical mechanisms and should therefore be considered complementary interventions rather than versions of a single educational methodology.

Pedagogical foundations

• Experiential learning: Participants encounter heritage-related concepts through interactive experiences rather than exclusively through explanations or presentations.
• Participatory heritage interpretation: Players contribute stories, decisions and perspectives that become part of the learning experience.
• Research through Design: Game prototypes are developed, tested and revised through iterative research processes.
• Situated storytelling: Game narratives are connected with recognisable geographical locations and heritage environments.
• Perspective-taking: Participants explore the world through characters or professional perspectives that differ from their own.
• Reflective learning: Game activities create opportunities to question assumptions about heritage, ecology, representation and ethical responsibility.
• Social learning: Group storytelling, discussion, negotiation and argumentation enable participants to encounter alternative interpretations.
• Creative expression: Narrative production encourages imaginative exploration while remaining connected with heritage-related prompts.
• Ethical reasoning: Participants consider competing interests and possible consequences when addressing dilemmas in cultural heritage design.
• Participatory research: Gameplay can produce stories, observations and reflections that contribute to understanding visitors and heritage experiences.

Methodology of Rock, Paper, Pigeon (RoPPi)

RoPPi uses a physical game board to structure an imaginative journey through Madeira’s natural and cultural heritage.

Players adopt characters representing nonhuman entities and create stories inspired by the relationships between those entities, the environment and human histories.

The physical game uses character cards, thematic prompts, dice, geographical movement and a narrative structure based on the Hero’s Journey.

Documented educational sequence

1. Introduction: Participants are introduced to Madeira’s natural and cultural landscapes and the concept of storytelling from nonhuman perspectives.
2. Character selection: Each participant adopts a character associated with Madeira’s ecological environment.
3. Starting location: The character begins a journey from a location represented on the map.
4. Movement: Dice-based progression determines how players advance through the fictional geographical journey.
5. Prompt selection: Thematic cards introduce situations related to nature, sensory experiences, actions and existential considerations.
6. Narrative development: Players write short passages from the perspective of their characters.
7. Progressive storytelling: Each passage contributes to a narrative following successive stages of the Hero’s Journey.
8. Story completion: Participants conclude their narrative through the final transformation and return stage.
9. Story sharing: The completed narratives are communicated to the group.
10. Reflection: Participants consider how their characters’ experiences relate to ecological processes and the relationships between nature and culture.

Individual and collaborative modes

Earlier physical editions document both individual and collective storytelling modes.

In individual mode, participants develop separate narratives in response to their own characters and prompts.

In collective mode, participants discuss a shared situation and contribute to a common story.

This distinction is methodologically important because individual storytelling and collaborative authorship can generate different forms of social interaction and reflection.

Facilitation and debriefing in RoPPi

Researchers or facilitators introduce the game, explain the narrative structure and support participants as they develop their stories.

The published materials include opportunities for participants to share their experiences and reflect on the perspectives they adopted.

For group play, the printable rules provide questions encouraging participants to compare how they interpreted events and how alternative choices might have changed their narratives.

Consequently, reflection is explicitly incorporated into the documented physical game design.

Methodology of On Location

On Location addresses a different educational challenge: making ethically responsible decisions when designing a mixed-reality experience for a cultural heritage institution.

The game combines asymmetric hidden roles with discussion, card selection and negotiation.

Documented educational sequence

1. Scenario selection: Participants select one of two fictional heritage environments.
2. Hidden-role allocation: Each player receives a secret role with individual victory conditions.
3. Card distribution: Tactic Cards are distributed to the players, and a shared Tactical Pool is created.
4. Ethical dilemma: The current Project Leader reveals a Conundrum Card.
5. Private selection: Other players select tactics before discussion begins.
6. Debate: Participants explain and defend their proposed responses.
7. Decision: The Project Leader chooses the preferred tactic.
8. Progression: The selected card is placed on the board and the leadership role rotates.
9. Final revelation: Players reveal their hidden roles and determine whether their objectives have been met.

Educational role of hidden information

The hidden-role system introduces strategic uncertainty into collective decisions.

Participants must consider not only the apparent suitability of a proposed tactic but also the possibility that another player may be pursuing incompatible objectives.

The optional presence of the Troll makes cooperation unstable and introduces a social deduction element.

However, the game’s treatment of hidden incentives should be interpreted as a simplified simulation of conflicting interests, not as evidence that real heritage design projects operate through comparable deliberate sabotage.

Facilitation and debriefing in On Location

The public rulebook provides a complete gameplay procedure and describes the revelation of roles and victory conditions at the end.

However, a separate, standardised educational debriefing protocol has not been identified.

For professional or educational implementation, facilitators could invite participants to examine why particular tactics were selected, how hidden objectives influenced arguments and whether the chosen approaches would be ethically defensible outside the game.

These suggested reflections are potential pedagogical extensions rather than procedures independently verified as part of the official rules.

Methodological transferability

RoPPi provides a model for board-based speculative storytelling and participatory heritage interpretation.

On Location provides a model for using ethical dilemmas, argumentation and hidden interests to structure professional discussion.

Both games illustrate the potential of physical tabletop activities to support research, education and public engagement alongside more technologically complex locative and digital experiences.

LoGaCulture was implemented between April 2023 and March 2026 as a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action coordinated by Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal.

The project brought together academic researchers, cultural institutions, museums and heritage organisations to investigate new approaches to location-based games and interactive heritage experiences.

Its research involved five interconnected case studies across four countries: Portugal, Ireland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Project implementation contexts

• Avebury, United Kingdom: Heritage experiences connected with the Neolithic landscape and stone circles.
• Madeira, Portugal: Natureculture heritage, biodiversity and the relationship between natural landscapes and human histories.
• Boyne Valley and Hill of Tara, Ireland: Historical landscapes, heritage narratives and location-based experiences.
• Senckenberg Museum, Germany: Museum interpretation, biodiversity and interactive experiences.

The physical board-game activities were developed within the wider programme of research on locative games, interactive storytelling, responsible design and visitor engagement.

RoPPi – Development and implementation

RoPPi was developed by the University of Lisbon research team through an iterative Research through Design process.

Its successive physical versions explored different ways of combining narrative production, geographical progression, ecological perspectives and shared storytelling.

Documented development stages

1. Initial concept: Development of a physical storytelling game intended to collect experiences and memories associated with Madeira’s Levada walking routes.
2. Early prototype: Participants could adopt different perspectives, navigate a game board and produce stories using writing prompts.
3. Intermediate prototype: The designers introduced a geographical map, heritage-related prompts and a more structured narrative framework.
4. Final physical version: The game emphasised nonhuman characters, thematic prompts, dice-based movement and the Hero’s Journey.
5. Playtesting: The design was investigated through sessions with participants from different professional backgrounds.
6. Digital adaptation: The project developed a complementary digital platform extending the physical game structure.
7. Scientific dissemination: The development process and qualitative findings were reported in academic publications in 2025 and 2026.
8. Museum implementation: RoPPi was incorporated into the Biotopia experience launched at the Natural History Museum of Funchal in February 2026.

RoPPi – Scientific evaluation published in 2026

Galvão-Ferreira and colleagues published a study entitled Rock, Paper, Pigeon: Exploring Speculative Ecologies through More-than-Human Play in the journal People and Nature on 5 November 2026.

The study examined how participants from different disciplinary backgrounds experienced and produced narratives through RoPPi.

Study characteristics

• Participants: 15 adults.
• Age range: 23–40 years.
• Professional backgrounds: Eight human-computer interaction or interaction design professionals and seven biologists.
• Sessions: Four gameplay sessions.
• Gameplay duration: Approximately 60 minutes per session.
• Study design: Qualitative user study with pre-play and post-play open-ended questionnaires.
• Additional information: Observation of gameplay and qualitative analysis of the narratives created by participants.
• Complete responses: All 15 participants completed the game and both questionnaires.

Research questions

The study explored whether and how adopting nonhuman characters influenced participants’ engagement with natureculture heritage, and how disciplinary background shaped their narrative choices.

The research considered:

• Participants’ interpretations of nonhuman agency.
• Connections between natural and cultural heritage.
• Use of ecological information within speculative stories.
• Emotional and imaginative engagement with different characters.
• Differences between scientific and design-oriented narrative approaches.
• Participants’ reflections on possible relationships between gameplay and real-world landscapes.

Qualitative findings

The researchers identified different storytelling tendencies between the two groups.

Participants from human-computer interaction and design backgrounds often created imaginative narratives emphasising emotional engagement, discovery, personal transformation and relationships between humans and nonhuman entities.

Biologists tended to produce stories more strongly grounded in ecological processes, adaptation, survival, species behaviour and environmental constraints.

These findings suggest that participants’ prior disciplinary knowledge influenced how they interpreted the game’s prompts and characters.

The study also identified examples of reflection on ecological relationships and the place of nonhuman entities within landscapes shaped by human activities.

Limitations of the RoPPi evaluation

• Small sample: The study included only 15 participants.
• Specialised participant profiles: Participants were professionals or researchers with relevant disciplinary backgrounds rather than a representative sample of museum visitors.
• Qualitative design: The principal results concern the interpretation and content of narratives and reflections.
• No control condition: The study did not compare RoPPi with an equivalent non-game educational activity.
• No objective knowledge assessment: Improvements in ecological or cultural heritage knowledge were not established through validated tests.
• Short-term evaluation: Long-term retention, environmental behaviour and subsequent engagement with heritage were not assessed.
• Potential familiarity effects: Some participants knew one another or worked in the same institution.
• Researcher involvement: The development team also conducted the sessions and analysed the qualitative data.

RoPPi – Museum deployment

In February 2026, the Natural History Museum of Funchal launched Biotopia, a transmedia heritage experience incorporating RoPPi alongside interactive installations and other technologies.

The project reported that visitors could interact with the experience and that the installation would remain available under the museum’s care.

This provides evidence of public-facing deployment beyond research prototypes.

However, the number of museum visitors who specifically used RoPPi and their measured learning outcomes have not been established from the reviewed documentation.

On Location – Development and publication

On Location was developed by the University of Southampton research team within LoGaCulture’s work on ethical heritage experience design.

The project published a dedicated game description and a collection of printable resources, including rules, cards, board and packaging artwork.

The game page is dated May 2026, with downloadable files published through the official project website.

The materials document the complete game structure, including roles, tactic selection, ethical dilemmas, leadership rotation and final victory conditions.

On Location – Evaluation evidence

The existence and completeness of the published game materials are verified.

However, the reviewed sources do not establish a game-specific participant sample, the number of completed playtesting sessions or a formal educational outcome evaluation for On Location.

Its inclusion is therefore supported by completed development and publicly accessible physical game resources, not by experimentally demonstrated learning effectiveness.

Overall evaluation status

LoGaCulture provides strong evidence of the development and publication of two original physical board games.

RoPPi additionally provides documented qualitative playtesting, academic publication and public museum integration.

On Location provides a complete public rulebook and printable components, but its implementation and learning outcomes remain less thoroughly documented.

The project’s educational relevance is well supported by its design and research documentation, while causal evidence of improvements in heritage knowledge, environmental awareness or ethical decision-making remains limited.

LoGaCulture developed an extensive collection of research, design and educational resources concerning cultural heritage, locative games, storytelling and responsible technological innovation.

Its principal Board Game-Based Learning resources are the original tabletop games Rock, Paper, Pigeon (RoPPi) and On Location.

The project also provides methodological design patterns, software tools, case-study documentation and scientific publications.

1. Rock, Paper, Pigeon (RoPPi) – Official Game Repository

RoPPi is a physical storytelling board game exploring Madeira’s cultural and natural heritage through the perspectives of human and nonhuman entities.

The official project page documents its development process, gameplay mechanics, research findings and three principal printable versions.

RoPPi – Official Game Repository, Rules and Printable Versions

2. RoPPi – Printable Physical Game, Version 1

The first version focuses on storytelling about Madeira’s Levada walking routes, personal experiences and alternative perspectives.

The printable resource contains a journey board, character cards, storytelling materials and gameplay instructions.

RoPPi – Version 1, Printable Game and Rules (PDF)

3. RoPPi – Printable Physical Game, Version 2

The intermediate version introduces a geographical map of Madeira, heritage-related prompts and a more structured narrative process.

It documents individual and collaborative storytelling modes for approximately one to seven players.

RoPPi – Version 2, Printable Game and Rules (PDF)

4. RoPPi – Printable Physical Game, Version 3

The final physical version emphasises nonhuman character embodiment and structured storytelling through thematic prompts and stages inspired by the Hero’s Journey.

Its published materials include a map board, character cards, prompts and writing sheets.

RoPPi – Version 3, Printable Game Materials (PDF)

5. On Location – Official Game Repository

On Location is an original ethics board game developed by the University of Southampton team.

It addresses ethical dilemmas associated with the design of mixed-reality experiences for cultural heritage attractions.

The game uses hidden roles, tactic cards, negotiation and asymmetric victory conditions.

The official repository includes:

• Printable rulebook in different page layouts.
• Role Cards.
• Tactic Cards.
• Conundrum Cards.
• Game board and scenario maps.
• Printable box artwork.

On Location – Official Game Materials and Printable Resources

6. On Location – Complete Game Rules

The public rulebook explains the number of players, preparation, hidden roles, card distribution, ethical dilemma resolution, leadership rotation, hand management and victory conditions.

It provides sufficient information to reconstruct the documented gameplay when combined with the printable cards and board.

On Location – Complete Rulebook (PDF)

7. LoGaCulture – Board-Structured Speculative Storytelling Design Pattern

The project published a methodological design pattern explaining how board-game structures can be combined with speculative storytelling for heritage interpretation.

The document examines movement, prompts, player roles, shared progression, narrative coherence and reflection.

It also discusses practical challenges such as downtime, unbalanced writing demands, weak social interaction and narrative fragmentation.

Board-Structured Speculative Storytelling – Design Pattern (2026)

8. LoGaCulture – Scientific Research on RoPPi

Galvão-Ferreira, P., Ferreira, M., Paulino, T., Soybilge, B., Nunes, N., & Nisi, V. (2026). Rock, paper, pigeon: Exploring speculative ecologies through more-than-human play. People and Nature. Advance online publication.

Published on 5 November 2026, this open-access article documents two qualitative user studies, involving 15 participants across four gameplay sessions.

The research examines the stories generated by participants and their reflections on nonhuman perspectives and ecological relationships.

RoPPi – Qualitative Evaluation in People and Nature (2026)

9. LoGaCulture – Research on Natureculture Game Development

Nisi, V., Ferreira, M., Galvão-Ferreira, P., Syobilge, B., Gouin, M., & Jardim Nunes, N. (2025). Playing and Authoring Natureculture Heritage: Designing a Digital Game for Natureculture Heritage Encounters. Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Creativity and Cognition, 224–237.

The publication describes the iterative design of the Natureculture Heritage Game and its evolution from a physical board-game approach towards digital storytelling.

Natureculture Heritage Game Development – ACM Creativity and Cognition (2025)

10. Biotopia – Natural History Museum of Funchal

Biotopia is a museum-based transmedia experience launched in February 2026.

It incorporates RoPPi alongside other interactive technologies addressing biodiversity, ecological relationships and nonhuman perspectives.

This resource demonstrates how the project’s research and game designs were incorporated into a public cultural institution.

Biotopia – Museum Deployment and Public Heritage Engagement

11. LoGaCulture Open Technology Collection

The Open Technology Collection contains reusable resources developed throughout the project, including software platforms, interactive systems, physical games and methodological design patterns.

It provides additional information for educators, researchers and heritage professionals interested in developing interactive cultural experiences.

LoGaCulture – Open Technology Collection

Resource accessibility and licensing

The official project website remains operational, and the repositories for RoPPi and On Location are publicly accessible.

The complete On Location rulebook and physical game board have been independently accessed. The first RoPPi printable version has also been directly examined.

Later RoPPi versions are listed in the official repository, although their complete files could not be independently rendered during this review because of technical retrieval limitations.

Specific open licences covering reproduction, adaptation and redistribution of every physical game resource have not been independently confirmed.

Educators should verify the conditions associated with individual files before modifying or commercially redistributing the materials.

Replicability

The availability of printable components, gameplay instructions and detailed design documentation makes LoGaCulture a strong example of reusable European BGBL resources.

RoPPi can inform the design of local heritage storytelling activities, while On Location provides a transferable model for discussing ethical design decisions through a physical board game.

LoGaCulture is a particularly interesting case for the European Board Game-Based Learning Observatory because it demonstrates how original tabletop games can support two distinct forms of heritage education: participatory narrative creation and ethical decision-making.

Its principal methodological contribution lies in integrating learning-related activities into the game mechanics rather than relying primarily on factual questions, quizzes or external instructional content.

RoPPi and On Location illustrate different ways in which board games can structure meaningful social and cognitive interactions.

Methodological strengths

1. Two original physical games: The project developed identifiable tabletop games with documented components, mechanics and educational purposes.
2. Strong correspondence between actions and objectives: RoPPi requires players to generate heritage narratives, while On Location requires them to debate and select responses to ethical dilemmas.
3. Participatory heritage interpretation: RoPPi transforms players from passive recipients of cultural information into active contributors to heritage narratives.
4. Nonhuman perspective-taking: Players are invited to explore environmental relationships through the viewpoints of animals, water and geological entities.
5. Structured narrative production: The Hero’s Journey provides a framework for creating coherent stories while maintaining opportunities for personal expression.
6. Mechanical support for creativity: Dice, geographical movement and thematic prompt cards introduce constraints that encourage imaginative responses.
7. Individual and collective storytelling: Documented physical versions offer different possibilities for personal reflection and collaborative authorship.
8. Ethical decision-making: On Location incorporates real-world design concerns into a system of dilemmas, tactics, argumentation and collective decisions.
9. Hidden information and competing incentives: Secret objectives provide an opportunity to discuss trust, cooperation and conflicts of interest.
10. Facilitated reflection: RoPPi explicitly includes opportunities for participants to share stories and reflect on their relationship with nature.
11. Iterative design: The development of RoPPi is documented through successive prototypes and user research.
12. Qualitative educational evidence: The 2026 RoPPi study examines actual participant narratives and reflections rather than relying exclusively on satisfaction ratings.
13. Public museum integration: RoPPi became part of a broader experience at the Natural History Museum of Funchal.
14. Access to materials: The project provides publicly listed printable components and complete rules for at least one of its physical games.
15. Research transferability: Its design patterns explain how specific choices concerning board structure, writing prompts and narrative progression influence participation.

Methodological limitations and considerations

1. Limited generalisability: The RoPPi user study included 15 participants from specialised professional and academic backgrounds.
2. Qualitative outcome measures: The research primarily analyses stories, perspectives and participant reflections rather than objective educational knowledge gains.
3. No demonstrated causal effectiveness: The available studies do not establish that the physical games outperform other approaches to heritage education.
4. Potentially demanding writing tasks: Narrative production may be challenging for participants with limited literacy, writing confidence or language proficiency.
5. Balancing storytelling and gameplay: Excessive emphasis on writing can weaken social interaction and the sense of shared play.
6. Narrative coherence: Random prompts and open-ended storytelling can produce fragmented narratives without appropriate structure.
7. Different prior knowledge: Participants with scientific or heritage expertise may produce different kinds of stories from non-specialist visitors.
8. Speculation versus factual accuracy: Imaginative heritage narratives should not automatically be interpreted as scientifically or historically accurate representations.
9. Facilitator influence: The quality of reflection and discussion may depend on the knowledge and procedures of the educator or researcher.
10. On Location implementation: The complete game is publicly documented, but formal educational playtesting and evaluation have not been independently established.
11. Strategic sabotage: The hidden Troll role adds social deduction and strategic tension but may also shift attention from collaborative ethical reasoning towards identifying or defeating a saboteur.
12. Subjective decisions: The Project Leader chooses a tactic after discussion, which may reward persuasive ability rather than the most ethically appropriate response.
13. Different educational populations: The two games address partly different audiences and learning objectives, limiting direct comparisons.

Relationship between game mechanics and learning objectives

The two games provide contrasting examples of mechanical integration.

RoPPi – Learning through narrative creation

In RoPPi, the central learning activity is inseparable from gameplay.

Players create stories by adopting alternative perspectives, interpreting location-based prompts and responding to challenges within a structured narrative sequence.

The movement system, character roles and thematic cards are designed to influence the stories that emerge.

Consequently, the game does not simply present information about heritage. It generates a process through which participants interpret and create meanings connected with heritage.

This approach may be particularly relevant for educational objectives involving creative thinking, perspective-taking, environmental reflection and cultural interpretation.

On Location – Learning through ethical argumentation

On Location integrates ethical design dilemmas into a system of hidden roles, card selection and debate.

Players must select tactics before hearing other arguments, defend their choices and attempt to influence a collective decision.

These interactions correspond more directly to professional communication and ethical reasoning than would a conventional knowledge quiz.

However, the hidden-role victory conditions introduce a distinction between making an ethically defensible decision and making the decision that best advances a player’s secret objective.

This tension could provide useful material for reflection, but it could also distract from the ethical content unless the experience is appropriately facilitated.

The board game as a research instrument

RoPPi offers an additional methodological contribution: the game produces participant-generated material that can be examined as qualitative research data.

The narratives created during play reveal how participants interpret landscapes, species, ecological relationships and cultural experiences.

The 2026 study demonstrates that participants’ disciplinary backgrounds influenced their narrative choices.

Biologists tended to emphasise ecological processes and biological constraints, while participants from design-related disciplines more frequently produced imaginative and emotionally expressive stories.

These differences provide evidence about how the game is experienced and interpreted, although they do not establish improvements in objective learning outcomes.

Implications for heritage education

LoGaCulture illustrates several considerations that may be relevant to future Board Game-Based Learning initiatives:

• Use game mechanics to structure the cognitive and social activities that constitute the intended learning process.
• Consider storytelling as a form of participatory heritage interpretation rather than only a means of presenting predefined information.
• Use character roles to encourage perspective-taking and challenge familiar assumptions.
• Combine creative freedom with sufficient narrative structure to maintain coherence.
• Balance writing and reflection with social interaction and shared progression.
• Use thematic prompts to connect imaginative activities with actual places and environmental characteristics.
• Investigate how participants’ prior knowledge influences the narratives and interpretations generated during gameplay.
• Use ethical dilemmas as opportunities for reasoned discussion and comparison of competing interests.
• Evaluate whether hidden-role mechanics support or distract from the intended ethical learning objectives.
• Include structured debriefing that distinguishes strategic success from educationally defensible reasoning.
• Document participant-generated stories and decisions when games are used as qualitative research instruments.
• Assess the accessibility of writing-intensive and discussion-intensive games for different audiences.
• Separate evidence of enjoyment, engagement and narrative production from evidence of knowledge acquisition or behavioural change.

Comparison with other BGBL approaches

LoGaCulture differs from educational board games that use quizzes to assess the recall of factual information.

Its two physical games involve participants in activities that directly resemble the targeted competencies: storytelling, perspective-taking, discussion, negotiation and ethical reasoning.

RoPPi is particularly useful for exploring how games support creative and interpretative learning, while On Location provides an example of integrating conflicting incentives into professional ethical discussion.

Both approaches are also relevant to the pedagogical adaptation of commercial board games, even though LoGaCulture developed original games.

The project suggests that educational value may arise from the decisions and social interactions produced by gameplay rather than from explicitly instructional content alone.

Overall assessment

LoGaCulture provides a substantial example of original physical tabletop game development within a European research initiative on cultural heritage.

Its principal strengths are the mechanical integration of storytelling and ethical reasoning, the public availability of game resources, the iterative design process and the qualitative evaluation of RoPPi.

Its main limitations concern the small and specialised evaluation sample, the absence of controlled educational outcome studies and the limited game-specific evaluation evidence for On Location.

For the European BGBL Observatory, LoGaCulture is particularly valuable as a case study of board-based narrative creation, nonhuman perspective-taking, ethical game design and the use of tabletop games as participatory research instruments.