What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to evaluate how a tabletop roleplaying game influences the museum visitor experience.

June 11, 2026Games Research and Practice0 citations

(Un)Becoming the Museum Visitor: the Value of Playing an (un)Serious Game in a Museum

NSNellie SealeThe University of Melbourne WSWally SmithThe University of Melbourne MRMelissa J. RogersonThe University of Melbourne

Key Points

This research aims to evaluate how a tabletop roleplaying game influences the museum visitor experience.
Developed a bespoke D&D module called LORE in collaboration with the Hellenic Museum.
Conducted interviews with players, game masters, and museum staff to gather qualitative insights.
The game reconfigured the social interaction dynamics within the museum setting.
Visitors valued the museum’s historical content as flexible and engaging.
Designing for collaborative play fostered unique adult experiences not typically found in museums.

Abstract

This paper describes and evaluates the use of a tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) in a museum, and its impact on the visitor experience. We developed LORE, a bespoke Dungeons and Dragons (D that the museum’s historical content was valued, but flexible; and that designing for collaborative dynamics gives rise to a type of play that does not otherwise occur for adults in museum settings. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the potential of TTRPGs (and RPGs more broadly) in museums, connecting to conceptualisations of museums as liminal or heterotypic spaces with the capacity to emotionally move or transform visitors.

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