Projects supported

In 2023, Game in Lab selected Prof. Vincent Berry’s research project to document the editorial offering of board games in France from 1950 to 2000. The aim is to study the evolution of the production and publication logic of so-called “modern” board games by analyzing thousands of games on the French market over five decades, in order to help promote board games as a cultural object.

In 2023, Game in Lab selected Clever Gustavo de Carvalho Pinto’s project to assess the potential of modern board games and game design activities to develop the scientific culture and critical thinking of high school students in Amazonia. This project aims to develop popular and mediated access to scientific education in a population that may be deprived of it, while identifying possible connections between a scientific culture and a game culture.

In 2023, Game in Lab selected Dr Rachel Wu’s project to determine whether playing familiar board games and learning new ones improves cognitive abilities, motivation and well-being in elderly adults. Her research specifically addresses a population from working classes, an innovative and important focus in the study of cognitive aging.

In 2023, Game in Lab selected Stefania Guasco’s project to assess the potential of board games to prevent problematic gambling practices among teenagers. The project is conducted in a school setting and aims to develop awareness of the risks associated with gambling, by raising awareness of the emotions that motivate risky behaviors and by proposing conscious and responsible gaming models.

In 2023, Game in Lab selected Dr Paul Wake’s project studying the links between board games, history and culture through an analysis of the Blood Bowl board game and its cultural context from 1987 to today. This project will lead to the creation of an online archive and the publication of a book dedicated to game sciences, media sciences and cultural history researchers, as well as players, enthusiasts and game designers.

In 2022, Game in Lab selected Prof. Gabrielle Trépanier-Jobin’s project to examine the contributions of the board game Les Choix de Raphaëlle to raising consciousness of violence among young people. This research aims to develop the critical awareness of oppressed people and to support them in a process of social change.

In 2022, Game in Labs selected Prof. Giorgio Gnecco’s project to study the use of machine learning techniques to improve the accessibility of online board games for blind and visual impaired people. Using a literature review and a concrete case of machine learning application, this project aims to develop a better human-computer interaction and improve access to board games.

In 2022, Game in Lab selected Ben Dyson’s project to examine the links between playing board games and cognitive psychology experiments. This project highlights the analogy between assessing cognitive skills in a scientific context and using cognitive skills in board games.

In 2022, Game in Lab selected François Johany’s project to use artificial intelligence to provide the scientific community and board game publishers with a powerful method to analyze game session data. This project serves as a starting point for the development of complete capture and scientific analysis solutions for gaming sessions in a natural context.

In 2022, Game in Lab selected Dr Peter Hart’s project to assess the potential of board games to support the development of language comprehension and inferential skills among eleven- and twelve-year-old school children. The project aims to identify the possibilities of using games to help learners prepare for secondary education.

In September 2022, Game in Lab selected Thomas Franco Pinto to be its third PhD student under an industrial PhD contract. In partnership with Asmodee, and under the direction of Profs. Heike Baldauf-Quilliatre and Isabel Colon de Carvajal, he prepared his thesis in three years at the ICAR Laboratory (Interactions, Corpus, Learnings, Representations, UMR 5191 CNRS) of the Lumière Lyon 2 University.

In November 2021, Michael Freudenthal was awarded the second Game in Lab PhD funding under an industrial PhD contract. In partnership with Asmodee, and under the direction of Profs. Gilles Brougère and Vincent Berry, they are preparing their thesis at the EXPERICE laboratory at University Sorbonne Paris Nord.

In 2021, Game in Lab selected Dr Elsa Brais-Dussault and Dr Aurélien Richez’s research project on the creation of an observation grid of beginner player behaviors in role-playing games. This project follows up on a Game in Lab event that was held during Brain Awareness Week 2021, proposing experiments with role-playing games to manage emotions and collective situations of conflict or stress.

In 2021, Game in Lab selected the research project proposed by Dr Chloé Germaine and Prof. Paul Wake to study how board games can help young people understand and discuss the challenges of the climate crisis. This research helped finance and launch a broader Horizon Europe project, STRATEGIES, on the ecological transition of the gaming industries in Europe.

João Léste's project was selected in 2021, focusing on the value of narrative board games as tools for communication, inclusion, and meaning for young adult students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This initiative is part of a Brazilian federal program aimed at developing learning and development programs for young people.

Bruno Dupont’s project was selected in 2021 to study the use and practices of board games in socio-cultural animation and training contexts across the French-speaking community of Belgium, where political decisions concerning youth and culture are implemented.

In 2021, a second research project by Melissa Rogerson was selected to study how the use of digital technologies in hybrid board games (combining physical gameplay with a digital application) is perceived by game designers, publishers, app developers, and players. This project follows an initial study that examined the role of digital elements in hybrid board games.

In 2020, Game in Lab selected Dr Ariela Holanda’s project to study the relationships between the use of board games in an educational context (specifically at several universities) and social skills (conversation, emotions, self-control) in students, young adults and adults.

Dr. Jorge Moya-Higueras’ research project was selected in 2020 to explore the effectiveness of modern board games in enhancing executive functions in children at risk of social exclusion. This project provides new insights into the cognitive influence of recent commercial games on young audiences.

In September 2020, Léa Martinez was selected to be the first Game in Lab PhD student under an industrial PhD contract. In partnership with Asmodee, and under the direction of Professors Eric Lambert and Manuel Gimenes, she prepared her thesis for three years at the CeRCA Lab (Centre for Research on Cognition and Learning) of the University of Poitiers, before defending her thesis brilliantly in December 2023.

In 2020, Game in Lab selected Dr Rebecca Bayeck’s research project on board games and intercultural communication as part of international call for projects. This research examines the facilitating role of a traditional African board game, Songo, in developing social cohesion and community identity among different cultures in Cameroon.

In 2020, Drs Liam Cross and Gray Atherton’s project was selected to assess board games’ potential to promote and develop the social and cognitive skills of people (children or adults) with autism spectrum disorders. This project led to various scientific publications on the topic of board games in autism.

In 2020, Game in Lab selected Dr Régis Catinaud’s project to study the possible balance between fun and learning in the Hanabi board game. The main idea of this project is to build an observation framework and measurement tools to report on the behaviors and skills engaged by players in a game situation.

In 2019, in its first call for projects, Game in Lab selected Prof. Philippe Robert's project to assess the impact of board games on the relationship between patients with Alzheimer's disease or related conditions and their caregivers or family members. This project revealed interesting results for both institutions and families, leading to the development of Access+, a range of board games designed to be accessible and adapted for individuals with cognitive impairments.

The JeuMETACOGITE project was selected in 2019 in the first call for projects launched by Game in Lab as a result of a meeting between orthopedagogue practitioners and researchers in Educational Psychology. This project evaluates the effects of board games on the self-regulation of primary school students, when used according to a metacognitive approach in the classroom.

In 2019, Game in Lab selected Dr Melissa Rogerson’s research project as part of its first call for projects to study hybrid board games, i.e. to examine the use of digital technologies to enhance, support and extend the diversity of physical board games. This project established a theoretical classification model for the digital functions of hybrid games.