PIXELS & MEEPLES

Funding programme

Erasmus+ KA201 – Strategic Partnerships in School Education

Project reference

2020-1-ES01-KA201-082522

Period

2020–2022

Coordinating organisation

University of Deusto (Spain)

Participating countries

Spain, Germany, Portugal, Greece

Official project website

Visit official website

PIXELS & MEEPLES aimed to develop computational thinking and digital literacy among primary and secondary school pupils through educational board games enhanced by complementary digital applications.

The project sought to make complex technological concepts accessible through tangible game components, interactive challenges and digital tools that support gameplay without replacing the physical board game experience.

Specific learning objectives

• Computational thinking: Strengthen logical reasoning, algorithmic thinking, problem-solving and the understanding of computational processes through interactive game-based challenges.
• Binary representation and computer operations: Introduce binary coding, binary arithmetic, logical operations and basic computer architecture through the MOON game and its digital adaptation.
• Blockchain literacy: Explain the fundamental principles of blockchain technology, including blocks, metadata, hash functions, distributed ledgers, data integrity and consensus mechanisms.
• Cybersecurity awareness: Familiarise students with digital security concepts, cyberattacks, computer vulnerabilities, protective mechanisms and the consequences of security breaches.
• Understanding digital systems: Help learners understand technological processes that underpin contemporary digital applications, moving beyond the conventional use of computers and software.
• Strategic problem-solving: Encourage students to analyse situations, evaluate alternative decisions and develop strategies in response to changing game conditions.
• Technology-enhanced learning: Explore how mobile applications and web-based tools can complement physical board games by facilitating calculations, managing game states and providing additional challenges.
• STEM engagement: Promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through accessible, enjoyable and participatory learning experiences.
• Teacher competence: Provide educators with games and supporting resources that facilitate the introduction of computational-thinking concepts into classroom activities.

The project also sought to encourage positive attitudes towards STEM education and reduce disengagement from technology-related subjects, although these broader aspirations should not be interpreted as demonstrated educational outcomes.

PIXELS & MEEPLES brought together three educational board games addressing different aspects of computational thinking and digital literacy. Two new games were developed within the project, while an existing game from the earlier Erasmus+ COMPUS project was extended through digital applications.

Games developed or adapted

1. MOON: An educational board game originally developed by the University of Deusto within the Erasmus+ COMPUS project (2018-1-ES01-KA201-050415). Players simulate the computer of the Eagle lunar module during the Apollo 11 landing mission, using binary operations to manage computational challenges and resolve technical problems. PIXELS & MEEPLES extended this existing physical game by developing and testing a complementary digital version. The application offers easy, medium and hard difficulty levels, as well as customisable parameters involving errors, resets, energy and available operations.
2. Block Miners: An original educational board game developed to explain the fundamental principles of blockchain technology. The game introduces concepts such as blocks, metadata, hash functions, public ledgers, data integrity and consensus mechanisms. Rather than focusing primarily on financial speculation involving cryptocurrencies, it aims to represent how blockchain systems operate. A complementary application can manage player scores and reduce administrative tasks during gameplay. The physical game can also be played without the application.
3. Red Team: An original educational board game addressing cybersecurity and ethical hacking. The game explores computer security through scenarios involving cyberattacks, digital vulnerabilities and protective mechanisms. It was designed to help learners understand security-related concepts and the potential consequences of attacks on digital systems. Complementary digital applications provide additional scenarios and interactive possibilities, although the physical game does not require the application to be played.

Game approach: Custom-designed educational board games, combining original game development with the digital extension of a previously developed educational board game.

Digital integration: The project uses complementary web and mobile applications to extend gameplay, adjust difficulty, facilitate game management and introduce additional scenarios. Digital support is optional for Block Miners and Red Team.

Educational integration: The games represent computational concepts through their rules, components, challenges and player decisions, connecting learning content with game mechanics rather than relying exclusively on external educational exercises.

Availability: Block Miners and Red Team are available through print-and-play resources and associated web applications. MOON is available through a web application and an Android version, complementing its previously developed physical edition.

Official game resources: PIXELS & MEEPLES – Games and resources.

PIXELS & MEEPLES adopts a hybrid Board Game-Based Learning approach that combines physical board games with optional digital applications to introduce computational-thinking concepts in school education.

The project builds on unplugged computer science education, where abstract computing processes are represented through tangible materials and gameplay, while digital tools extend the possibilities of interaction, simulation and game management.

Methodological process

1. Identify computational learning objectives: Select the computing concepts to be addressed, including binary representation, blockchain technology or cybersecurity, and choose the corresponding educational game.
2. Introduce the technological context: Provide learners with the basic concepts needed to understand the game’s challenges, such as computer operations, blockchain structures or digital security threats.
3. Prepare physical and digital resources: Organise the board game components and decide whether the complementary application will be used. For Block Miners and Red Team, digital support is optional.
4. Engage in game-based problem-solving: Students interact with the physical components, apply game rules and make decisions involving the computational concepts represented by the game.
5. Use digital enhancement where appropriate: Applications can facilitate score management, introduce additional scenarios, adjust difficulty or extend access to the game beyond the physical classroom.
6. Adapt the level of challenge: In MOON, the application provides predefined difficulty levels and customisable parameters, allowing teachers to select more accessible or demanding computational challenges.
7. Connect gameplay with computational concepts: Teachers can help students relate the operations and decisions made during gameplay to the technological processes being represented.

This sequence represents a synthesis of the educational approach described in the project documentation. It should not be interpreted as a single mandatory instructional protocol followed identically across all participating schools.

Role of the facilitator

Teachers select appropriate games and difficulty levels, introduce relevant computing concepts, organise gameplay and support students in understanding the relationship between game actions and computational processes.

The project envisaged classroom guidance for educators and involved participating schools in testing the educational resources. The complementary applications also reduce certain practical demands on teachers, particularly where digital tools manage calculations or game parameters.

Reflection and debriefing

The reviewed documentation does not establish a standardised or mandatory debriefing procedure.

Nevertheless, the games provide opportunities for educators to discuss the computational concepts encountered during play, examine the consequences of different decisions and relate the simulated systems to real-world technological applications.

Such reflection is pedagogically relevant, but should be distinguished from a formally documented and evaluated post-game methodology.

Hybrid learning approach

A distinctive characteristic of PIXELS & MEEPLES is that digital applications are used to complement physical gameplay rather than simply replacing board games with conventional digital games.

The project therefore illustrates how analogue game mechanics and digital functionalities can be combined while maintaining the social interaction and tangible manipulation associated with board-game-based learning.

PIXELS & MEEPLES developed, tested and disseminated educational board games through a European partnership involving universities, schools and a board game manufacturing company.

Implementation

• Participating countries: Spain, Germany, Portugal and Greece.
• Project consortium: University of Deusto (Spain), Colegio Trueba (Spain), AGRpriority (Spain), Bertha-von-Suttner-Gymnasium Babelsberg (Germany), Escola Dr. Horácio Bento de Gouveia (Portugal) and the Experimental Gymnasium of the University of Patras (Greece).
• MOON digital development: The online version of MOON was launched in June 2021, extending an educational board game previously developed through the COMPUS project.
• Teacher-oriented activities: A webinar held on 1 June 2021 explored the digital version of MOON and discussed its classroom integration, explanatory requirements and the advantages of online access.
• Prototype testing: Block Miners was presented to board game experts in September 2021, allowing the development team to collect feedback and suggestions for improvement.
• Game designer feedback: In February 2022, Block Miners was tested with members of Asociación LUDO, the Spanish Association of Game Designers, and their children in Valladolid.
• School piloting: Block Miners piloting began at Colegio Trueba in March 2022. Additional school workshops involving the game were reported in January 2023.
• Cybersecurity game testing: An early prototype of the cybersecurity game, then identified as Red Code, was tested in Bilbao in March 2022.
• Public dissemination: Block Miners was presented at the InterOcio international board game convention in Madrid in March 2022. The project also organised multiplier events and international partnership meetings.
• European school implementation: Project documentation reports that partner schools participated in the testing, piloting and subsequent educational use of the MOON application. The consortium reports that hundreds of primary and secondary school students used the game in technology, mathematics and computing activities.
• Final development: Although the official project period ended in December 2022, the project website documents additional testing in January 2023 and the publication of final game versions in April 2023.

Evaluation and evidence

The available documentation provides evidence of prototype testing, game development, classroom piloting, educational workshops and dissemination activities.

The involvement of school pupils, teachers and external game designers indicates that the games were tested in different contexts and that feedback informed their development.

A participating Portuguese school also documented a MOON educational competition held in May 2022, reporting student participation, engagement and enthusiasm during activities involving binary coding and logical reasoning.

However, the reviewed public sources do not provide sufficient information to establish a systematic evaluation of learning outcomes across the complete project.

No controlled comparative study, validated pre-test/post-test assessment or detailed statistical analysis demonstrating improvements in computational-thinking, blockchain or cybersecurity competencies was identified.

Evidence classification: Documented game development, international piloting, school implementation and dissemination; educational effectiveness not established through a controlled outcome study in the sources reviewed.

Limitations: Reports of student participation, positive reception and educational use demonstrate implementation but do not establish learning gains. The absence of sufficiently documented assessment instruments, comparison groups and outcome data limits conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the games.

PIXELS & MEEPLES provides a collection of educational board games and complementary digital applications designed to facilitate the teaching of computational thinking, blockchain technology and cybersecurity.

Available resources

• MOON – Digital game: A web-based adaptation of the previously developed educational board game, introducing binary representation, logical operations and basic computer architecture through a simulated lunar landing mission.
• MOON – Android application: A mobile version providing different difficulty levels and customisable game parameters, including energy, errors, resets and available computational operations.
• Block Miners – Print-and-play game: Downloadable physical game materials designed to introduce blockchain concepts, including blocks, metadata, hash functions, distributed ledgers and consensus mechanisms.
• Block Miners – Web application: A complementary tool that supports gameplay and facilitates score management. The application is not essential for playing the physical board game.
• Red Team – Print-and-play game: Downloadable materials for an educational cybersecurity game addressing ethical hacking, security threats and the consequences of cyberattacks.
• Red Team – Web application: A complementary digital tool intended to enhance the physical game experience through additional scenarios and interactive functionalities.
• Mobile accessibility: The official project resource page also identifies Android versions associated with Block Miners and Red Team.
• Classroom support: The project envisaged guidance to facilitate teachers’ use of the games in educational settings. However, a separate, complete pedagogical guide for the entire collection could not be independently located among the publicly linked final resources.
• Implementation examples: The project website documents testing sessions, school piloting, educational workshops, webinars and public dissemination activities.

Transferability

The project promotes free access to its educational games and the use of Creative Commons licensing to support wider distribution and reuse.

The availability of print-and-play components and complementary web applications facilitates implementation in schools outside the original partnership.

An important practical advantage is that Block Miners and Red Team do not depend on their digital applications to remain playable, providing flexibility for classrooms with different technological resources.

MOON also offers flexible difficulty settings, potentially supporting differentiated use with learners who have different levels of previous computational knowledge.

The specific licensing terms of individual resources should be checked before modifying or redistributing their components.

Replicability assessment: Game-level replication is supported by publicly linked printable resources and digital applications. However, the reviewed documentation does not establish a comprehensive, standardised implementation and evaluation protocol applicable across schools.

Resources: Official games and educational resources.

PIXELS & MEEPLES represents an interesting example of hybrid Board Game-Based Learning, combining physical educational games with digital applications to address complex technological concepts.

Its principal methodological contribution lies in exploring how digital tools can extend the educational possibilities of physical board games without necessarily replacing their analogue mechanics, tangible components or opportunities for social interaction.

Methodological strengths

1. Integration of analogue and digital learning. The project combines physical board game components with complementary applications that can facilitate calculations, adjust game parameters and introduce additional challenges. This approach allows technology to support gameplay rather than becoming the sole medium of instruction.
2. Intrinsic connection between mechanics and learning objectives. The games seek to represent computational processes through their underlying systems and player decisions. Block Miners is particularly interesting because it focuses on how blockchain technology operates rather than merely using cryptocurrencies as a thematic setting. Red Team similarly approaches cybersecurity through scenarios intended to represent security threats and their consequences.
3. Continuity and exploitation of previous European project results. The reuse and digital extension of MOON, originally developed through COMPUS, is a particularly relevant feature. Rather than creating an entirely new collection of resources, PIXELS & MEEPLES builds upon an existing educational game and extends its accessibility, flexibility and potential applications. This demonstrates a pathway for sustaining and developing Erasmus+ results beyond the original project.
4. Optional digital enhancement. Block Miners and Red Team can be played without their complementary applications. This is an important methodological and practical advantage, as the physical game remains a usable educational resource even when digital devices are unavailable or unsuitable.
5. Adaptable complexity. MOON provides different difficulty levels and customisable parameters, allowing educators to adjust the computational demands of the activity. This flexibility is particularly relevant for educational settings involving heterogeneous groups of learners.
6. Open educational resources. The availability of printable components and web applications facilitates the reproduction of games and their potential adoption by teachers beyond the original consortium.
7. Involvement of professional game designers. The participation of AGRpriority and the documented testing of Block Miners with Asociación LUDO indicate an effort to incorporate game design expertise and external feedback into development.
8. Documented educational implementation. The project reports school piloting, workshops, teacher-oriented activities and the use of MOON by pupils in several European countries. This provides evidence of practical implementation beyond the production of educational prototypes.

Methodological limitations

Although the project demonstrates an interesting relationship between physical games and digital applications, the educational contribution of each component has not been independently established in the reviewed documentation.

In particular, it is unclear whether digital enhancement produces measurable educational benefits compared with using the equivalent physical games without applications. Evaluating this question would help determine whether the digital component improves learning outcomes, usability, engagement or merely administrative efficiency.

The project also illustrates the challenges of designing games around specialised technological concepts. Although this approach enables close alignment between mechanics and educational objectives, it may require considerable development effort and may restrict recreational appeal beyond the intended educational context.

Moreover, while the games were tested and used in educational activities, the available sources do not provide robust comparative evidence demonstrating improvements in computational-thinking or digital-literacy competencies.

Ludus Magnus assessment

PIXELS & MEEPLES is a valuable example of how physical board games can be enhanced by digital technologies while preserving their identity as analogue educational resources.

Its connection with COMPUS is particularly noteworthy from a European project sustainability perspective. The extension of MOON demonstrates how previously developed educational games can be improved, adapted to new technologies and introduced into additional learning contexts through subsequent projects.

Compared with conventional custom-designed educational games, the hybrid approach also introduces an important methodological question: which educational functions genuinely benefit from digital enhancement, and which can be delivered equally well through physical gameplay?

The project’s optional applications provide a useful starting point for investigating this question, although comparative learning evidence would be needed to establish their educational added value.

Transferable methodological lesson: Digital applications can enhance Board Game-Based Learning by managing computational tasks, extending content and supporting differentiated difficulty. However, technological enhancement should serve a clearly defined educational or gameplay function, and its added value should be evaluated separately from that of the physical board game itself.