An independent studio making playful, original tabletop games.
The makers, artists and sponsors behind the Playground, plus a directory of games and play for learning.
An independent studio making playful, original tabletop games.
Designer of Hot Chocolate Empire, a business and finance game that turns economics into hands-on play.
The Melbourne creative college whose Game Design students showed off the games they've made.
The Melbourne studio behind Fantasy Map Maker and Dungeon Map Maker. You roll dice, sketch your own worlds, then have to survive them.
RMIT's game series, the first in humanitarian engineering, turning empathy and human-centred design into hands-on play.
Makers of Epic Garden, a fast family card game about growing gardens, managing crops and tackling real-world farming challenges.
A collective of independent game makers who show off and sell their own creations, and brought a whole stall to the Playground.
Award-winning games and storytelling, including La Sobremesa, a conversation game that uses play to explore gender equality, healthy relationships and consent.
Complex simulation games for kids that build thinking, interpersonal and communication skills. See them in action on YouTube.
A multi-award-winning game designer, writer and storyteller who champions marginalised voices in game design.
Home of The Ecosocial Game Deck, a systems-based game that builds wellbeing and connection between people, places and the planet.
An artist and maker who joined the Playground market.
Handmade art and creative products to browse and buy.
Award-winning designer and storyteller, with printable and playable games to explore on itch.io.
Art celebrating the cute creatures and small wonders of the forest.
Original tabletop games and handcrafted trinkets, full of a little everyday magic.
Melbourne's home of tabletop and video gaming, and a proud supporter of the Playground.
Victoria's much-loved museum, backing hands-on, playful ways of learning.
Our major sponsor, and one of the best in the business for classroom games and learning resources.
An Australian directory of resources for teaching through games and play, from early years to university. Tap a category to open it. Reviewed over 90 sources, checked August 2026.
Rachel Parker's practice, championing play-based learning in schools around the world.
Adrian Janson's coding, robotics and STEM programs that bring games into the classroom.
Campbell Craig's game-based learning design, turning training into something people actually enjoy.
Accessible discussion of co-designed play-based programs in early childhood and school-age care.
Official EYLF V2.0 information sheet explaining how intentional educators support learning through play.
Overview of game elements, possible benefits, limitations and the mixed evidence base.
Student-centred teaching through modified games, questioning and repeated decision-making.
Open-access interactive textbook on planning, implementing and assessing learning through play, from early years to school.
Practical introduction for teachers, including videogames and student game-making.
Research-based framework for selecting a balanced range of early-years approaches.
Concise explanation of play-based practice, agency, symbolic representation and teacher decision-making.
Broad review with sections on digital games and gamification.
Higher-education guidance for authentic assessment through simulated environments and challenges.
Detailed treatment of teacher roles, learning environments and connections with High Impact Teaching Strategies.
Introductory module explaining the learning, wellbeing and social purposes of play and inquiry.
Free modular professional learning for early primary teachers, including planning, assessment, inclusion and curriculum connections.
Australian and New Zealand chapter of the Digital Games Research Association.
Regional hub for games used in learning, health and social change.
Open collection of Asia-Pacific applied-games research and case studies.
Talks and case studies on classroom games, inclusion, Indigenous knowledge, mental health, higher education and social impact.
Australian games-industry body publishing current research on play, games and the applied-games sector.
Platform developed from University of Sydney research to make suitable games easier for schools and universities to discover and use.
Serious-game research spanning education, health, ethics, sustainability and social interaction.
Research group developing and evaluating serious games and simulations for university and professional learning.
Australian research and development organisation working with serious games, simulation and experiential environments.
Competition featuring applied games in education, healthcare, defence and emergency services.
Professional community advancing serious games across Australia and New Zealand.
Interdisciplinary University of Sydney group with a specific “Learn” research stream.
Introductory resource for teachers and students making a first videogame.
Free lesson plans for English, Humanities, Media, Arts and other learning areas using existing videogames.
Planning guide for including students with disability, neurological differences and specific learning difficulties.
National student game-design competition with curriculum-linked resources.
Hybrid digital and physical game-making activity with decisions and multimodal storytelling.
Years 3 to 4 sequence using Scratch or a similar visual programming platform.
Australian Curriculum-linked lessons, including game design, Scratch, robotics and interactive stories.
Years 5 to 6 design-thinking sequence in which students analyse, create and showcase games.
Helps educators find games, plan their use and connect them with learning goals.
Structured unit and lesson materials for younger game designers.
Ten-stage sequence covering planning, mechanics, coding, visual design, audio, prototyping and testing.
Free-to-start Australian science games and challenges for primary classrooms.
Peer-reviewed studies underpinning the platform’s game-based science approach.
Games and teacher material about marine animals, habitats and caring for coastal environments.
Award-winning games such as The Voyage, Cook’s Voyages and Wreck Seeker, mapped to the Australian Curriculum.
Australian play-based digital STEM program combining children’s apps with more than 100 off-screen activities.
Australian 3D design platform explaining how its game mechanics support STEM and design learning.
Australian biodiversity game in which players photograph and identify species while contributing citizen-science observations.
Years 5 to 6 lesson using an Australian videogame as a starting point for learning about Country and environmental knowledge.
Quests, history challenges and games about voting, referendums and the Australian Constitution.
Free downloadable 3D civics game with interactive election modules.
Ready-to-use activity in which students role-play the passage of a bill.
Role-plays and toolkits that turn the classroom into an Australian parliament.
Games resource for schools and communities developed around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Inclusive, curriculum-aligned game cards for teachers and coaches.
Free Australian alcohol and drug education games for school students.
Games, role-plays and playful activities on respectful relationships, scams, help-seeking and online safety.
Branching-narrative serious game created for alcohol and other drug education in Years 9 to 10.
Australian serious game that embeds a clinically validated hearing check in engaging play.
Australian social-impact adventure game that teaches teenagers how to find local help and support services.
Hospital-based centre delivering simulation education to improve healthcare quality and safety.
Collection spanning classroom engagement, adult learning, workplace readiness and implementation challenges.
Australian research and development agenda for games and simulations in legal and justice education.
National Health Education and Training in Simulation program for healthcare professionals and educators.
Game-based economics and statistics courses developed at UNSW.
Examples of games for accounting, project management, collaboration and professional decision-making.
Case study of the Blackout serious game used with large university cohorts.
Home of the Australian Society for Simulation in Healthcare and a network for simulation-based professional education.
Australian higher-education case studies, including role-playing and stakeholder simulations.
Short account of the design and use of the economics game in university teaching.
Practical overview of using serious games to engage, guide and assess university students.
Review and conceptual framework for playful learning in primary school.
Short and accessible account of the framework and its implications.
Major Australian study of digital games in schools for literacy and learning.
Extensive Australian research on games, literacy, pedagogy and young people’s digital cultures.
Australian study of digital gaming, culture, peer mentoring and learning with Indigenous primary students.
Accessible summary of the Serious Play project and its classroom findings.
Bond University-led systematic review focused on why university educators do and do not adopt these approaches.
Australian research on serious games, immersive learning and emerging technologies.
Australian model derived from Queensland educators’ use of games in classroom contexts.
Current Australian applied-games landscape report and examples.
Erica Southgate, Janene Budd and Shamus Smith’s practical framework for selecting and using serious games in primary and secondary classrooms.
Australian-led scoping review of serious games used in adolescent health education.
Australian study of the possibilities and limitations teachers see in classroom videogames.
Research showing how playful approaches can support adolescents’ engagement with complex science communication.
Large report combining a research review with evidence about Australian secondary teachers’ practices and views.
Recent mixed-methods research conducted across Australia.
Major synthesis comparing serious games with conventional instruction.
Major systematic review and meta-analysis of digital games and learning for K to 16 students.
University-based studio producing free, research-informed learning games and tools for educators.
Curated directory of more than 150 digital and non-digital social-impact games.
Especially useful for explaining the difference between the two approaches.
Game-based resources connecting social and emotional learning with academic content.
Widely cited synthesis of the characteristics and developmental value of learning through play.
Large international collection of lessons, worlds and teacher training built around a commercial sandbox game.
Nicola Whitton’s influential framework for playful learning in higher education.
Open-access systematic literature review across university disciplines.
Games and programs supporting social and emotional learning and global citizenship.
Clear policy brief focused on early childhood and the early primary years.
John Hunter's hands-on political simulation in which students run the world, negotiate crises and learn through complex, collaborative play.