“Frammenti di memoria: Un’avventura tra enigmi, memoria e cammino” brought together local history, teamwork, storytelling and community engagement
On Sunday the 21st of June, the municipality of Gifflenga hosted “Frammenti di memoria: Un’avventura tra enigmi, memoria e cammino”, a gamified treasure hunt designed and developed by Ludus Magnus – European Institute for Modern Board Games.
The activity was commissioned by the Comune di Gifflenga and was financed and promoted by the municipality, with the contribution of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Biella. Its aim was to offer local families, residents and visitors an immersive experience through the memory, history and cultural identity of Gifflenga.
The event invited participants to travel symbolically through ten centuries of local history. Through a sequence of ten challenges, teams encountered different historical characters connected to Gifflenga’s past, each one representing a specific period and offering a new fragment of memory. Riddles, observation tasks, deduction, maps, codes, storytelling and local traditions were combined to create an experience that was both playful and meaningful.
A total of 15 teams took part in the treasure hunt. Two teams were able to solve all ten challenges, with the final prize awarded to “I vicini di campagna”, the team that completed the full route in the shortest time.
For Ludus Magnus, this project was a clear example of how game-based learning and gamification can be used to promote cultural heritage, community participation and territorial identity. The activity was not conceived merely as a game, but as a way to make participants walk through the village, observe their surroundings, talk to one another, solve problems collaboratively and reconnect with the stories that shape a place.
The development process was carried out in close collaboration with the local team. We would like to sincerely thank Elisa Pollero, Mayor of Gifflenga, for the trust placed in Ludus Magnus, as well as Cristian Lenti and Gabriele Ardizio for their involvement, ideas and support throughout the preparation and implementation of the activity. The quality of the collaboration was essential to adapt the experience to the identity of the village and to ensure that the final result felt authentic, engaging and deeply connected to the local community.
The response from participants was extremely positive. Many highlighted the activity as fun, well designed, beautiful and worth repeating. Beyond the challenges themselves, the event became a shared celebration of memory, territory and belonging.
At Ludus Magnus, we design tailor-made gamified experiences for municipalities, schools, cultural institutions, associations and organizations that want to communicate their heritage, values or educational content in a participatory and memorable way. Each project is created according to the specific context, objectives and audience, combining narrative design, game mechanics, educational methodology and local identity.
“Frammenti di memoria” has shown once again that games can be much more than entertainment: they can become a powerful tool to bring people together, activate places and transform history into a living experience.
For more information about our gamification, game-based learning and cultural heritage projects, please contact Ludus Magnus through our website.