Exploring Cultural Heritage through Play: Insights from TwoCase Studies Combining Immersive and Traditional Play

Cultural Heritage embodies the core of a society’s identity, values, and historical narratives, requiring innovative and engaging approaches to support its preservation and dissemination. Serious games, which merge educational content with interactive and immersive gameplay, have emerged as effective tools for enhancing public engagement with cultural heritage. This paper presents an exploratory comparative study of two serious games designed to foster Cultural Heritage awareness through distinct interaction modalities: XR-Paestum Gate and Silkroadopoly. XR-Paestum Gate is a virtual reality serious game centered on the archaeological site of Paestum, employing immersive technologies to foster emotional engagement and stimulate curiosity through experiential exploration. Silkroadopoly, in contrast, is a board game enhanced with interactive digital components, designed to convey the historical narratives of the Silk Road and deepen players’ understanding through collaborative and strategic gameplay. While each game targets different experiential dimensions both demonstrate potential in enriching cultural learning, fostering not only interest but also a deeper sense of connection to historical contexts. The findings of this exploratory study offer valuable insights for the design of future interactive systems for cultural education, highlighting the potential of integrating diverse gaming formats to create accessible, meaningful, and impactful learning experiences.