The Organizing and Scientific Committee, the Jury, and the Selection

The Organizing Committee

The Organizing Committee of the Play4Change Award scrutinizes the proposals submitted, ensuring they adhere to the participation criteria, and identifies those applications that conform to the specified requirements.

The applications thus selected are anonymized, removing any identifying details (such as the names of designers or affiliated entities and associations), and then forwarded to the Scientific Committee. This committee assesses their alignment with the objectives of the award and then presents these vetted applications to the Jury.

Organizing Committee Composition:

  • Boncinelli Leonardo – University of Florence
  • Gjyzelaj Stela – GAME Science Research Center

Jury

The Jury conducts a blind review of the applications, leading to the selection of the finalist projects. The award’s Jury comprises industry experts, including representatives from academia, various associations, the business world, and the educational sector.

Jury Members (2024 Edition):

  • Bremer Thomas

    Bremer Thomas (Jury President)

    Co-Founder & Professor di DE:HIVE Game Hub – HTW Berlin

    Thomas Bremer is Professor of Game Design, specialising in Game System Design and Game Thinking, and co-founder of the DE:HIVE GameHub at the HTW Berlin. He studied fine arts at the HfBK Hamburg. His field of research is the artistic and scientific exploration of the phenomenon of play and its dimensions, transdisciplinary forms and potentials. He is particularly interested in discovering and questioning the principles and rules of play established in society, reflecting on the socially transformative potential of games, and artistically testing and scientifically researching the creative powers of play. He is also particularly active in the field of entrepreneurship education.

  • Angiolino Andrea

    Angiolino Andrea

    Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti – NABA Roma

    Andrea Angiolino is a journalist and game designer with a prolific career. He has created games for radio, TV, magazines, advertising, and the internet. Among his numerous board games is the Wings of Glory series (co-created with Pier Giorgio Paglia, Ares Games). He has authored around thirty books, most of them centered on games and gaming culture.

    Notable works include In cerca di fortuna (Italy’s first gamebook, originally published by Ripostes in 1987, reprinted by Plesio Editore in 2023), the Dizionario dei Giochi (co-written with Beniamino Sidoti; Zanichelli, 2010; 2nd edition by Unicopli, 2022), and Storie di giochi – da nascondino al Sudoku (Gallucci, 2017).

    An author and editor of various role-playing games, Angiolino serves as the creative director for the new edition of Lex Arcana, transforming it into a global success. He shares stories about games and toys on Wikiradio on Rai Radio Tre, produces documentaries on gaming for RAI and the Lucca Comics & Games festival, and organizes game-themed exhibitions for the event.

    Angiolino also writes entries on games and comics for publications by the Istituto Treccani, teaches game design courses, and lectures on Game Culture at NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome.

    In 1999, he was officially recognized as an “Expert Game Designer” by the Italian Ministry of Education. He has received numerous accolades, including the Best of Show Lifetime Achievement Award at Lucca Games 2004, the Personality of the Year in Gaming Award in 2007, and the Gradara Ludens Award in 2022.

  • Babini Glauco

    Babini Glauco

    Ludo Labo

    President of Ludo Labo and a ludic historian, he has been collaborating with the Historical Institute of Modena since 2001. He is also one of the founders and organizers of the ‘Play – Festival del Gioco’ in Modena. Since 2015, he has been responsible for curating educational projects related to historical themes within the festival. In game design, he notably published in 2019 the first board game focused on the Italian Resistance, ‘Repubblica Ribelle,’ now in its second edition, developed in collaboration with the network of Historical Institutes. His contributions to playful public history are significant, having participated in several projects ranging from the urban game ‘Cronoricerca nel tempo’ (2015), the educational game ‘Memorie Coloniali’ (2022), to the role-playing game ‘Radio Victory’ (2023), and the recent ‘Livorno 1921, la rivoluzione a congresso.’ He is an active member of the Game Science Research Center and the Italian Association of Public History, under whose auspices he has organized three conferences on History and Gaming at the Play festivals in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

  • Bacaro Giovanni

    Bacaro Giovanni

    University of Trieste, Federludo

    my discovery of role-playing games originated with the Red Box edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Currently, my research focuses on investigating new RPG mechanics and identifying the evolutionary patterns that shape game similarities, variations, and innovations.

  • Bilancini Ennio

    Bilancini Ennio

    IMT Lucca

    Ennio Bilancini is a full professor in game theory and behavioral economics. He serves as the Director of the GAME Science Research Center and coordinates the GAME Science Seasonal Schools. His work focuses on game science, prosocial behavior, sustainable practices, and social norms.

  • Boero “ilnan0” Fabio

    Boero “ilnan0” Fabio

    LUDO ERGO SUM TdG Imperia

    Fabio Boero is an educator and coordinator of socio-educational services in the province of Imperia. He trains educators and teachers in the use of games, writes projects for schools and institutions utilizing games for inclusion, team building, and the assessment of life and soft skills.

  • Bonaiuti Daniele

    Dummy Image

    Bonaiuto Daniele

    Arcigay Firenze, Arcigaymerz

    Daniele Bonaiuti is an actor, director, theater teacher, LGBTQIA+ activist, and enthusiast of games and game design. A lifelong passionate nerd, he proudly contributed to the conception, creation, and promotion of Lobbies, the first Italian card game with an LGBTQIA+ theme. He was one of the founders of Arcigaymerz, the LGBTQIA+ gaming group of Arcigay Florence, where he focused on safety mechanics and creating safer spaces related to gaming. He is part of the collective that organizes IN/VISIBIL3, a convention held in Florence for the past two years, dedicated to intersequential, transfeminist, and queer reinterpretations of the present and future of the gaming world. Since May 2024, he has been the president of Arcigay Firenze Altre Sponde.

  • Cardinale Laura

    Cardinale Laura

    Il Salotto di Giano A.P.S

    Administrator of Jano Studio S.r.l. and Vice President of Il Salotto di Giano A.P.S., she is a medieval historian with a specialization in public history, a trainer for the Ministry of Education on the use of games in the classroom within the National Pact for Reading. She provides historical consulting in the world of gaming and manages dissemination projects that combine play with culture. A member of the AIPH, she is part of the Research Center on Play at the University of Genoa and the Game Science Research Center. She works in the gaming publishing industry as a Line Curator and author of Role-Playing Games.

  • Cecere Stefano

    Cecere Stefano

    GAME Science Research Center

    Stefano Cecere operates at the intersection of games, education, open-source technologies, and new humanism. He develops EdTech and Game-Based Learning initiatives at FEM.digital, Social Impact Games through VGWB.org, and playful education programs with 2042ed.org. A father of two and vice president of a community center, he is dedicated to playing his part in this vast collaborative endeavor.

  • Chiarello Fabio

    Chiarello Fabio

    CNR-IFN (Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies of the National Research Council)

    Fabio Chiarello: physicist, CNR-IFN researcher specializing in quantum technologies and superconducting devices. Actively engaged in science communication through conferences, games, lecture-concerts, and workshops, with a particular interest in exploring the use of games for science communication. He is the author of the popular science book “L’Officina del Meccanico Quantistico” (The Quantum Mechanic’s Workshop) and the coordinator of the national competition “Fotonica in Gioco” (Photonics in Play), aimed at involving students in creating science-themed board games.

  • De Toffoli Dario

    De Toffoli Dario

    studiogiochi

    The passion for board games, card games, logic games, word games, math games, and more led to the creation of studiogiochi in 1987.

    Dario is the founder of the Italian Games Festival, the Archimede Prize, and the Italian Games Archive.

    He is a journalist, the author of around fifty books on games, and the creator of about twenty board games. Above all, he is a passionate player: he was Pentamind World Champion in 2002 and 2012 at the Mind Sports Olympiad, where he has earned 148 medals since 1997.

    In 2024, he was honored with both the Giampaolo Dossena Award for game culture and the Gradara Ludens Award.

  • Giannotti Giammario

    Giannotti Giammario

    Galileo Galilei Scientific High School

    Giannotti Giammario, a long-time enthusiast of board and role-playing games, founded Tana dei Goblin Pescara in 2011 to promote gaming culture. Since 2013, he has collaborated with A.P.S. Cronosfera and other associations in designing live gaming events. A Mathematics and Physics teacher, he has been involved in Playful Teaching since his university days, has led conferences and seminars on the subject, and has designed various educational games.

  • Giovinazzi Francesco

    Giovinazzi Francesco

    La Gilda del Cassero

    An activist with the Cassero LGBTQIA+ Center in Bologna and a volunteer at Gilda, he spearheaded the development of the Pink Game Manifesto. With a deep passion for promoting gaming and game design, he played a key role in creating ‘Lobbies’, the first Italian card game centered on LGBTQIA+ themes, and has also collaborated with the informal research group ‘Donne, Dadi & Dati’.

  • Ienco Andrea

    Ienco Andrea

    National Research Council – Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds CNR-ICCOM

    Andrea Ienco is a chemist and researcher at CNR-ICCOM, focusing on atoms, molecules, and their transformations using crystallography and applied theoretical chemistry. In the “Language of Research” network, dedicated to dissemination, he uses games to illustrate chemistry’s role in sustainability, energy, and critical materials challenges. He also played a key role in creating the “Periodic Issue” volume of Comics&Science, focusing on the periodic table.

  • Ligabue Andrea

    Ligabue Andrea

    Play – Games Festival, Unimore

    Andrea Ligabue is a gaming expert specializing in game-based learning for over 10 years. He is a contract professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, where he conducts a workshop on Playful Teaching and is the author of “Didattica Ludica: competenze in gioco” (Erickson, 2020). He has been the Artistic Director of the Play – Festival del Gioco since its inception in 2007, a member of the scientific committee of the Game Science Research Center, and the founder of the cooperative Ludo Labo, which focuses on playful education, gaming events, gamification, and game design.

  • Manna Diego

    Manna Diego

    White Cocal Press

    Diego Manna, biologist, born in Trieste on March 4, 1979. Environmental educator and science communicator with a passion for dialect literature, he founded a publishing house through which he publishes books and board games focused on the culture and dialect of his city. Creator of educational games on environmental topics, he is currently completing a master’s degree in Game-Based Learning and Gamification in Educational Contexts at the University of Urbino.

  • Masini Michele

    Masini Michele

    V.I.E. srl, Genova, Italia, CeRG, Centro di Ricerca sul Gioco, Università di Genova

    Michele Masini is a psychologist and researcher with a PhD in Psychology, Anthropology, and Cognitive Sciences, specializing in cognitive ergonomics and human factors. As an adjunct university professor, he has taught courses on cognitive ergonomics, psychology of design, and non-technical skills. His research focuses on non-technical skills, teaching methodologies, and Game-Based Learning. He has been involved in several projects on training, education, and faculty development. Additionally, he co-founded V.I.E. SRL, a consulting company specializing in training, human factors, and organizational safety.

  • Mattiassi Alan

    Mattiassi Alan

    GAME Science Research Center

    Alan Mattiassi, PhD, is a psychologist, trainer, teacher, and researcher in the field of gaming. He employs games in academic and corporate settings to enhance learning, motivation, and thought and behavior dynamics. Mattiassi designs and conducts training on gaming at various levels, using Game-Based Learning and Gamification methods grounded in cognitive neuroscience. His approach to gaming is distinctly scientific. He uses existing games or designs custom games, focusing particularly on debriefing the gaming experience. He has authored scientific papers and chapters on game psychology and designed games for specific educational objectives in European, social, or corporate projects.

  • Mosca Ivan

    Mosca Ivan

    University of Turin

    Ivan Mosca is a Game Design lecturer at the University of Turin’s Department of Humanities. His work integrates theoretical research on games, as seen in “The Social Ontology of Digital Games” (Wiley-IEEE), with practical design studies, such as “What is it like to be a player? The qualia revolution in game studies” (Games & Culture). His approach combines in-depth game theory with practical aspects of game design.

  • Negri Isabella

    Negri Isabella

    Unimore, Association GO! Gioco & Opportunità.

    Isabella Negri, pursuing her PhD at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, specializes in Work Development and Innovation. A registered psychologist, she is passionate about games, focusing on educational live-action role-playing game design and facilitation for schools and corporate settings. Previously, she researched digital game design in the Pistoia mountains at the University of Florence. Negri is the Vice President of GO! Gioco e Opportunità, a member of Play Res, and has been with the Game Science Research Center since 2019. Her research encompasses work-university transition, organizational well-being, and educational innovation.

  • Nesti Romina

    Nesti Romina

    GAME Science Research Center

    Romina Nesti, pedagogista, formatrice e coordinatrice pedagogica, è dottore di ricerca in “Metodologie della ricerca pedagogica. Teoria e storia”. È stata ricercatrice all’Università di Firenze dove ha insegnato Metodologie del gioco e dell’animazione, Tecnologie dell’educazione e Pedagogia speciale. Collabora con enti pubblici e privati come l’Università degli studi Carlo Bo di Urbino.

     

  • Pandolfi Claudia

    Pandolfi Claudia

    Graduated in Audiovisual and Multimedia Communication with a thesis on gamification, a role-playing and board game enthusiast since childhood, she is a feminist and queer activist. In Veneto, she runs the Queer Box gaming workshop. In 2018, she co-founded the research group Donne, Dadi & Dati with Giulia Cursi, which later gave rise to the Safe Space Project.

     

  • Piccinno Francesco Tommaso

    Piccinno Francesco Tommaso

    VIE – Valorizzazione Innovazione Empowerment srl; CeRG – Centro di Ricerca sul Gioco, Università di Genova

    Tommaso F. Piccinno is a researcher with a PhD in Psychology, Anthropology, and Cognitive Sciences. He is an adjunct professor of non-technical skills at the Department of Engineering at the University of Genoa. His research interests focus on the study of board game ergonomics from a cognitive perspective, teaching methodologies with a particular focus on Game-Based Learning, and the development of non-technical skills. He is involved in various research projects assessing the impact of board games as educational and training tools, especially in the context of the relationship between gaming and history education. He is also the author of games designed for educational and outreach purposes.

  • Pierfederici Benedetta

    Pierfederici Benedetta

    We Are Muesli

    Benedetta Pierfederici studied Italian literature (in Rome), cultural heritage management (in Siena), and public history (in Milan). She begins and ends with words (“Everything can change, but not the language we carry within,” says Italo Calvino), yet she knows when it’s time to let spaces take center stage! She is a content designer, public historian, and Italianist at We Are Muesli.

  • Rivi Arianna

    Rivi Arianna

    BASE Social Enterprise, F.R.O.G. APS GAME Science Research Center

    Arianna Rivi, a pedagogue and independent professional, is also a partner at BASE Social Enterprise. She collaborates with F.R.O.G.APS and LudoLabo Cooperative, aiding in organizing school workshops during the Play – Festival del Gioco. Her work focuses on design and training in areas like adolescence, school dropout, social withdrawal, motivation for study, learning processes, parenting support, and playful education. A member of the Game Science Research Center, she deeply values gaming as a means for developing cross-disciplinary skills and as a communication tool in various fields.

     

  • Rizzi Alessandro

    Rizzi Alessandro

    University of Milan

    Full Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Milan. Since 1990, he has focused on digital images, color, and visual perception. He is a Fellow of IS&T, Senior Editor for Color Research and Applications, and Associate Editor for the Journal of Electronic Imaging. In 2015, he was awarded the Davies Medal by the Royal Photographic Society. For years, he has conducted research on accessibility in board games, with particular attention to colorblind players and the visual aspects of game components.

  • Rosin Umberto

    Rosin Umberto

  • Salvador Mauro

    Salvador Mauro

    Event Horizon School

    Mauro Salvador focuses on the impact of games in modern society and the phenomenon of media ludification. He lectures on game design at Event Horizon School and teaches Digital Storytelling at the University of Bologna. His work also includes collaboration in video game development with Trinity Team and the creation of playful experiences with the Dotventi collective.

  • Sidoti Beniamino

    Sidoti Beniamino

    Writer and Journalist

  • Spotorno Rosalba

    Spotorno Rosalba

    GRPItalia A.P.S.

    Rosalba Spotorno is a passionate board and role-playing gamer. However, since 2002, she has shifted her focus to teaching mathematics in schools, using a playful approach. She employs board games and simulations to develop life skills and explore environmental sustainability topics in her teaching. Additionally, she has conducted seminars and webinars to promote the use of playful teaching methods among educators and teachers

  • Viola Marco

    Vaccarella Letizia

    University of ROma Tre & ToPlay

    Marco Viola, born in 1988, is a researcher and philosophy lecturer at the University of Rome Tre. He specializes in cognitive sciences and their methods, as well as the perception of faces and emotions. A dedicated gamer, he collaborates with the gaming event ToPlay, where he has been responsible for cultural events since 2020.

Selection

The evaluation criteria include the project’s originality, the characteristics of the game or games involved, as well as the effectiveness in achieving Social Change objectives and the methodology used for its evaluation. Finalist projects will be requested to provide additional materials, such as photographs or videos, further descriptions, rules, and a copy of the game for the Jury to test.

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