Game Design for Education - A handbook to detail experiential methodologies and strategies to adapt and design games for Education

Program: Erasmus+

Key action: Partnerships for cooperation and exchanges of practices

Action Type: Small-scale partnerships in vocational education and training

Project Reference: 2025-1-EL01-KA210-VET-000357836

Start Date - End Date: 01/12/2025 - 30/09/2026

Duration: 10 months

Our role: Coordinator

Topics

• Key competences development
• Inclusion, promoting equality and non-discrimination
• Work-based learning

Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, GDE is a project aiming to provide a tool to professional game designers, from the initial game design steps, following to the transition to game design for education. The consortium aims to create a tool, which will include actual examples and guidelines aimed at aspiring or successful professionals of the board game industry, including digital file management. Additionally, it intends to promote groups with less recognition such as female designers and designers members of the LGBTQ community.

Game-based learning has become increasingly popular in education, but many educators and designers still lack accessible, practical tools that show how games can be adapted and used effectively in learning environments. While game design is a powerful method for building engagement, creativity, and problem-solving skills, the existing resources are often either too technical for educators or too theoretical for designers.

At the same time, the creative industries face challenges related to inclusion and representation. Women, LGBTQ+ creators, rural educators, and practitioners working with individuals with intellectual disabilities often have fewer opportunities to access structured training or collaborate across sectors.

The Game Design for Education (GDE) project was created in response to these needs. It aims to bridge the gap between education and game design by developing a practical, inclusive handbook that provides step-by-step guidance, examples, and methodologies that can be used by both educators and designers. Through international cooperation, research, and co-creation, the project supports innovation in VET and empowers professionals to integrate game-based learning confidently and creatively.

1️⃣ Develop a practical handbook
that provides clear methodologies, strategies, and examples for designing and adapting games for educational use.

2️⃣ Support educators and designers
in integrating game-based approaches into teaching and learning environments.

3️⃣Promote inclusion and diversity
by showcasing accessible design practices and highlighting underrepresented voices in the game design sector.

4️⃣ Encourage collaboration
between education, creativity, and game design professionals to share knowledge and innovative practices.

With the support of the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed express solely the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the State Scholarship Foundation (IKY). Neither the European Union nor the funding authority can be held responsible for them.