Digital Preservation Games Group

We are group of Archivists and Digital Preservation practitioners who also love games. We meet regularly to play games that can help us learn more about digital preservation and develop our knowledge in a fun and exciting way.

Our events are open to everyone who is interested in learning about digital preservation, and playing games. All levels welcome :)

We alternate our events between online and in-person. When we meet online a link to a teams call is created, for events in person we meet at King's College London  Archives  located in the Strand Campus, King's Building, London, WC2R 2LS.

The games we play are varied, and each brilliant in their own way. Games played include Board Games, Quiz Games, Immersive Escape Room type games, Collaborative Games, Completive Games, and much much more.

Previous and current games include:

• Escape from digital preservation hell: a game where the player needs to navigate a series of digital preservation challenges to escape from a fictional hell-scape, see:  https://forms.office.com/e/SAF7cBNTH5 
• Digital preservation heist game: Another immersive experience game when the player much navigate the plot to a heist story by solving a variety of digital preservation challenges. see:  https://forms.office.com/e/qVa1zHUu0T 
• Who wants to be a digital preserver?: A game based on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?", with questions that quiz people on their knowledge of how to progress their digital preservation careers.
• Can you guess the photo?: A game where players are shown smaller parts of a larger image (related to digital preservation, such as the DPC logo for example), and must try figure out what the larger image is.
• Guess the preservation reference?: A game where you figure out a digital preservation reference from an image. Such as this one of a Star Wars Droid, which is a nod to  DROID  from the National Archives.
• OAIS: a game based on the ISO  OAIS diagram : who will be the first to ingest their submission package into an OAIS reference model compliant digital archive?
• What am I?: guess what aspect (standard, technique, format etc) of digital preservation your opponent is by asking closed questions.

We are a small group volunteers. Group members include:

• Sean Macmillan (RMARA), who is a Digital Collections Manager at King's College London.
•  Margaret Crockett  (ex-FARA), consultant archivist and co-author of " Managing Digital Archives " an online course.
• Francesca Mackenzie, Digital Archivist at the National Archives, and creator of several fun games.
• Vincente Canas (Games enthusiast, beginning of archive career), the author of the brilliant  Dust 2 Digits  Blog.

Games are powerful tools for learning, especially in fields like digital preservation, as they combine engagement with skill development. By making abstract concepts interactive, games turn complex ideas into practical experiences. In digital preservation, for instance, games can simulate real-life challenges like data corruption, storage decisions, and archival best practices, allowing players to experiment and learn through trial and error. This active, hands-on learning strengthens understanding and retention. Additionally, games encourage problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking. They are also, in essence, light hearted and low stakes. They allow people to learn in a relaxed environment, where mistakes are not consequential, and where failure does not mean the loss of anything important!

Our events are aimed at anyone and everyone with an interest in digital preservation, and who enjoy learning via the fun and interactive medium of games :)

• Our next in-person event is at King's College London, on the 19th of November. Sign up here:  Digital Preservation Games: RSVP for November 19 at King's College London Archives! 
• Our next online event will be on January the 16th.

If you want to learn more about us, or suggest a game, then feel free to get in touch at  digitalpreservationgames@gmail.com 

You can also join our discord group:  https://discord.gg/HD6FteXS 

We are grateful from the support we have received from  King's College London ,  The National Archives ,  The Archives and Records Association , and the  Digital Preservation Coalition .