Training course in Croatia

How can we bring more play, curiosity, and engagement into education? And what happens when you put teachers, youth workers, school coordinators, university students, and young people in one room and, instead of giving them a traditional presentation, you put a game into their hands?

That was exactly the idea behind the EduGame: Expansion event, which took place on 26 September 2025 at The Spot coworking space in Bratislava. The event brought together 18 participants from both formal and non-formal education and created space not only to present the project results, but above all to experience them in practice.

The EduGame: Expansion project was created to develop and promote game-based learning and connect it with topics that are relevant and socially important for young people. Within the project, 12 educational games were developed and adapted for youth workers, teachers, and other educators.

It was not just about playing

We started the day with a short introduction to the EduGame: Expansion project, its development, outputs, and possibilities for practical use. As several participants were newcomers to Erasmus+, we also dedicated time to explaining how such projects work, what opportunities Erasmus+ offers, and how individuals, schools, and organisations can get involved.

Participants had the opportunity to become familiar with the whole set of games developed within the project. The practical part, however, focused on three selected games: Who Hacked You?, The Story of You, and Pitch Perfect. These games are among the tools presented within the project and at multiplier events in other partner countries.

Participants were divided into three smaller groups. Each group started with a different game and rotated after every round. This way, everyone had the chance to experience all three games. After each round, a short facilitated reflection followed: what did the game bring us, what worked well, and most importantly, how could we use it in our own context — in school, in an organisation, in a youth work programme, or in a workshop?

And this part may have been even more important than the playing itself. A game is not the goal. It is a tool.

“I could use this, but how do I fit it into 45 minutes?”

The feedback from participants was very positive. People especially appreciated the opportunity to experience educational games themselves and see how learning can become more interactive, dynamic, and participatory. Teachers and youth workers naturally started discussing where exactly they could use the games: in the classroom, during a workshop, in a school parliament, in a youth group, or as part of a non-formal learning programme.

At the same time, very practical questions emerged.

Since many participants came from formal education, one of the most frequent topics was time. How can you play a more complex educational game when a teacher only has 45 minutes? Does the whole game always need to be played? Can it be divided across several lessons? Can only one part of the game mechanics be used?

These questions opened an interesting discussion about the modularity of games — shortening them, selecting only one part, adapting the rules, or dividing an activity across several sessions. Participants also highlighted the need for simple facilitation instructions, a clear setup, and ready-to-use reflection questions that would make the games easier to implement in schools.

One important idea also became very clear during the discussion: a good educational game is not enough on its own. A lot depends on how it is introduced, how the facilitator guides the process, and what happens afterwards.

Reflection is often what turns “we played a game” into “we realised something.”

When schools, young people, and the gaming world meet

Another major strength of the event was the mix of people in the room. Most participants were teachers, youth workers, and school coordinators, while several of them also brought young people from their schools and groups, including students and representatives of school and student councils.

This created an interesting dynamic.

Adult multipliers were thinking about how to implement the games in their programmes. Young people reacted to them as players, but also as people who could further spread the outcomes among their peers.

This mix was very important for the project. EduGame is not meant to remain only as “methodological material on the internet.” The aim is for the games to travel further — into schools, youth centres, organisations, workshops, and communities.

The multiplier event also created new connections between schools, the NGO sector, the university environment, and the community around The Spot. Participants also met people from the gaming industry and university sector, which opened conversations about future cooperation, internships, and educational projects connecting traditional and digital game design.

What do we take away from the event?

Perhaps the biggest outcome was not simply that three games were played.

It was the question that came afterwards:

“How could this work in our context?”

In a school. In a youth organisation. In a workshop. In a group of young people.

EduGame: Expansion shows that a game can be much more than relaxation or entertainment. It can create space for discussion, exploring topics, decision-making, cooperation, and learning through experience. At the same time, the event showed that if we want to bring game-based learning into everyday practice, we also need to talk about very practical things — time, facilitation, adaptation, and the reality of specific schools and organisations.

🧩 EduGame: Expansion is an international project co-funded by the European Union and implemented with the support of Noorteprogrammide Keskus.

The project brings innovative educational games for youth workers, teachers, and trainers, helping to develop competences through experiential learning and playful approaches.