As a certified trainer in Live Interpretation, my mission is to bring heritage to life in ways that are engaging, playful, and meaningful. In recent years, I’ve added a new dimension to this work: designing social board games inspired by local heritage.
👉 These are not commercial products. They are created exclusively for my interpretive programs — Storytelling Skopje and Storytelling Macedonia — where visitors don’t just learn about the past, they play it.
Games That Belong to Their Period
When I design a game, it has to fit the historical context:
- In Prehistory, there were no texts — so game-play reflects that.
- In Ancient Rome, there were no playing cards — so I replace them with other mechanics.
- It’s true that thousands of games are mentioned in historical sources, but only a handful can be fully reconstructed. For interpreters, this opens up a unique opportunity to re-imagine the rules in ways that stay authentic while remaining firmly rooted in science.
Why Games?
Because they’re never just about winning. These games encourage learning, reflection, and mindfulness toward heritage. Visitors step into the mindset of people from another time, acting and reacting as someone might have in the Bronze Age, Roman period, or beyond.
Archaeology Meets Play
I love games. But I’m also an archaeologist with a strong scientific background. That combination means the games are both authentic and enjoyable. Every mechanic has a historical reason — and every rule is designed to spark curiosity.
From Prototype to Play testing
Designing historical board games today requires creativity, research, and a few simple tools (sometimes Canva, sometimes AI brainstorming). But most of all, it requires testing with real people. I prototype with museum visitors, site participants, and event audiences, who always give honest feedback that helps refine the rules and make the experience stronger.
Why It Matters
In the end, these games transform heritage into something tangible and social. They allow people not just to listen to history, but to live it through play. And that is where interpretation becomes most powerful.
Follow me
This text was originally published in my LinkedIn newsletter.
👉 If you’d like to follow Newsletter: Interpretation and Storytelling, click here
