Gamemuseum ‘Tiedens’

Gamemuseum ‘Tiedens’ in Tolbert

The word ‘Tiedens’ is the local Groninger word for ‘games’, and that is exactly what this museum is going to be all about: the experience of games in the broadest sense of the word. As the museum itself will offer a broad range of experiences for young and old, offering besides a museal exposition an escape room as well as a café that will offer the chance to play several tabletop games, the active engagement with games will be the central focal point of this establishment.

Homo Ludens, Homo Tiedens

In cooperation with Willy van der Schuit, we will design the museal part of the ‘Tiedens spelletjesmuseum’. Our focus will be on telling the story of the social history of playing games in the Netherlands, following the point of view of the seminal work ‘Homo Ludens’ by the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga. By picking some key items from the broad collection of our client, ranging from ancient to modern-day games, and placing them in their own micro-historical context focusing on the social aspects of their histories, we will attempt to not only tell the story of the history of games to the visitors, but to also actively engage them with the history by making it accessible and relatable. Our aim will be not only to inform, but to move and incite by showing the universality and ‘humanness’ of playing games.