On October 7, 2026, students tried out the digital games from the Heritage Game project at the KreativEU international student festival in Trnava. While playing, they learned about the project and its goal: to engage local communities in exploring and interpreting cultural heritage through game-based tasks and digital tools.

The festival at the Trnava Synagogue – Center for Contemporary Art accompanied an international student conference organized by the KreativEU alliance on the topic of “Eco-Heritage and Well-being.” During the presentation of the Heritage Game, students learned how the app combines information about specific locations with game-based tasks.

Heritage Game focuses on gamification—that is, the use of game principles in activities such as education and exploring historical sites. It emphasizes the involvement of local communities, particularly in sparsely populated regions. Universities and local partners collaborate to create content based on specific locations and their history. In doing so, expert knowledge is combined with local knowledge and the experiences of the people who live there.

One of the Slovak games is *Across the Frontier: Romans and Germans in Cifer-Pac*, which was developed in collaboration between the University of Trnava and the Cífer-Pác Archeopark. Five themed stops provide insight into the archaeological site located beyond the former border of the Roman Empire and the interactions between the local Germanic population and the Roman world. The tasks encourage players to base their answers on archaeological findings and to reflect on their significance.

The game distinguishes between a preserved artifact, its expert interpretation, and a reconstruction. It shows what evidence each conclusion is based on, as well as which questions remain open.

The Discover Úľany Wetland game was developed in collaboration between the University of Trnava and the organization Pre Úľany – Pro Fudemus, n. o. At seven stops along the educational trail near Pusté Úľany, it introduces players to the wetland environment. The site is part of the Úľanská Wetland Special Protection Area within the Natura 2000 network. The game explains the importance of wetlands and floodplain forests, recalls the former peat extraction, and highlights the local community’s current efforts to care for the landscape.

Both games are available in Slovak and English and can be played in a web browser. The digital content is linked to visits to the respective sites. The shared gaming portal also offers games from other partner countries.

About project

The Heritage Game: A Gamification Model for Community-Based Heritage Work” is an Erasmus+ project involving seven European universities, including the University of Trnava in Trnava. Project No. 2023-1-PT01-KA220-HED-000154261 is co-funded by the European Union.

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