In a small classroom in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, teenagers gather around a table scattered with post-its, LEGO bricks, and colorful cards. Laughter mixes with serious concentration as they test out the rules of a game they’ve just invented.

At first glance, it looks like simple fun—but it is something much deeper.

EduMais’s Game Design Program

This is EduMais’ Serious Game Design program, where young people don’t just play games—they design them. They build their own board and digital games as a way of making sense of the world they live in, and even more importantly, as a way to change it.

Young Own Trained Leaders

Guided by young leaders trained by Games for Health Europe Foundation and FioCruz, our students explore how games can mirror life’s toughest challenges. Just like in life, games have rules, roles, victories, and setbacks. Through designing them, teenagers uncover how the systems around them—poverty, violence, inequality—shape their everyday experiences. And then, they imagine how those rules could be rewritten.

• Play & analyze games to uncover what makes them fun and meaningful.
  Prototype fast using paper, LEGO, and creativity to bring first ideas to life.
• Code digital games with GDevelop, building platforms, scores, levels, and challenges.
• Tell the story, learning how to promote their games through posts, hashtags, and presentations.
• Test & improve, gathering feedback from classmates, families, and guests.
  Showcase & celebrate in the grand finale—our Game Jam, where every game is shared and played.
• Every project is rooted in real issues: environmental pollution, community violence, discrimination, or even personal struggles with self-confidence. Students don’t just imagine a better world—they design it, test it, and share it.