ECGBL – Games Comp

Are you a game developer working on Educational Games? The International Educational Game Competition is a showcase for your innovation, creativity and impact in games-based learning. It brings together professional, amateur and scholarly educational game developers from around the world to exhibit and gain international recognition for their work whilst competing for the title of the best Educational Games.

ECGBL 2027 will host the 15th International Educational Game Competition (IEGC) in October 2027. Games submitted to the competition should demonstrate a clear educational purpose. Entrants should be prepared to explain their design and development process, the innovative aspects of the game or its educational context, the methods used to create engagement and immersion, and the impact the game has achieved or is expected to achieve.

The game should be sufficiently developed to engage players for a minimum of ten minutes. The competition will be divided into three categories:

• Fully Developed Games
• Games in Development
• Student-Developed Games

Winners will receive a certificate and the right to use the prestigious IEGC Winner logo in promotional and marketing materials associated with their game.

Competition Objectives

The competition aims to:

1. Provide educational game designers and developers with an opportunity to demonstrate their game design and development skills in an international setting.
2. Encourage peer review, peer assessment and the sharing of best practices among creators of games-based learning experiences.
3. Showcase innovative and effective examples of games-based learning (GBL) to delegates attending ECGBL.

Games in any format are welcome, including both digital and non-digital applications.

Submission Process

In the first instance, participants should submit a 300-word outline describing the game, its educational objectives, and its stage of development.

Shortlisted entrants will be invited to present their games at ECGBL 2027 in Tallinn, Estonia, where they will demonstrate their work to the judging panel and conference delegates.

Previous winners have represented a diverse range of game genres, technologies and pedagogical approaches, highlighting the breadth and creativity of the educational games community.

Attendance Requirement

All finalists and award recipients must attend the conference in person to present their game and participate in the competition. A virtual Showcase will take place during the virtual ECGBL conference for participants unable to travel to the conference. This is not part of the competition but an opportunity to show your game to other virtual conference participants.

Click here to submit a game outline

Important Dates

Abstract Submission Deadline – 10 May 2027

Notification of Game Acceptance – 9 June 2027

Conference Registration Deadline – 2 September 2027

If you have any queries, email: louise@academic-conferences.org

Further information about the 21^st European Conference on Games Based Learning can be found at: https://www.academic-conferences.org/conferences/ecgbl/