Ruilab

2024

RuiLabisastrategicdesignsystemcreatedinsideRuibal,Argentina’smosticonicboardgamecompany.Thegoalwastorethinkhoweducationalgamesareimagined,designed,andevaluated,andtobuildaprocessthatcouldgenerategamesrootedinrealculturalcontextsandreallearningneeds.

THE RESEARCH

Understanding how children learn through play

RuiLab began with an extensive research phase that included ethnographic observation, desk research, and surveys with more than two hundred families and educators. We focused on how children between six and eight learn through play, how families use board games at home, and how rules, storytelling, and collaboration shape cognitive and social development. One insight became central to the entire project: learning improves when the game aligns with the cultural language, values, and play patterns of the community that uses it. RuiLab was built from that understanding.

THE SYSTEM

A method for culturally rooted game creation

A method for culturally rooted game creation

The outcome of the research became a structured design system that guides teams from insight to final game. RuiLab organizes research interpretation, idea generation, mechanic development, testing, and refinement into a clear sequence that any design team can follow. It introduces digital tools for sorting insights, formats for turning data into design opportunities, and iterative loops that reconnect prototypes with real children and educators. Rather than producing a single game, the project delivered a long-term system capable of generating educational products that respond to actual learning needs and cultural realities.

The outcome of the research became a structured design system that guides teams from insight to final game. RuiLab organizes research interpretation, idea generation, mechanic development, testing, and refinement into a clear sequence that any design team can follow. It introduces digital tools for sorting insights, formats for turning data into design opportunities, and iterative loops that reconnect prototypes with real children and educators. Rather than producing a single game, the project delivered a long-term system capable of generating educational products that respond to actual learning needs and cultural realities.

THE OUTCOME

Design, learning, and culture in one process

RuiLab redefined Ruibal’s approach to educational game design. It shifts the company from intuition-based development to a research-driven method rooted in pedagogy and culture. The system positions games as tools for learning, social connection, and creative exploration, and it gives the company a sustainable way to design products that evolve with the communities that use them. RuiLab was an opportunity to merge strategic design with cultural insight, creating a framework that continues to inspire new projects long after the original collaboration ended.

RuiLab redefined Ruibal’s approach to educational game design. It shifts the company from intuition-based development to a research-driven method rooted in pedagogy and culture. The system positions games as tools for learning, social connection, and creative exploration, and it gives the company a sustainable way to design products that evolve with the communities that use them. RuiLab was an opportunity to merge strategic design with cultural insight, creating a framework that continues to inspire new projects long after the original collaboration ended.

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