In the Ubiquitous Gaming theme we carry out both theoretical and practical projects, all of which aim to explore and expand our vision of games that inhabit our physical surround.

'Pirates!' was the starting point of an investigation into how computer games can be designed to regain some of the more social aspects of traditional games, as well as how they can free the players from the desktop environment.

In our studies of live role-playing games we look at the various interfaces players use, how those interfaces contribute the execution of the game activity, and by which principles they are designed and deployed in the game. In addition to informing the Ubiquitous Gaming theme, the live role-playing games studies is also inspirational to the PLAY theme Public Play Spaces.

In addition to being a project where we investigate narrative constructs and novel interaction modes for a traditional card-game, the myTHeme project is something of a resource project that informs several PLAY research activities, including the Game Design Patterns project and the Smart-Its project.

The focus of the Game Design Patterns project is on studying computer games in terms of interaction, components and design goals with the intension of creating the basis for a common language for game designers and researchers.