Come spend a day creating, playing, and connecting at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens for our very first Game Jam in the Garden!

This one-day game jam invites GLAM professionals, creatives, researchers, and students to design and prototype games inspired by nature, the gardens, and the living world around us.

You can work solo or in small teams using any format - digital, analogue, or hybrid. No coding experience required! Whether you want to make a narrative game, a card game, a playful installation, or something entirely unexpected, the day is all about creativity and collaboration.

If you’re not sure where to start, we’ll have a range of optional creative prompts to spark ideas or guide your design.

Event Details

📅 Date: Friday 7 November 2025
🕘 Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
📍 Location: Adelaide Botanic Gardens (Goodman Lecture Theatre, Goodman Building - enter from Hackney Road)
🎟️ Cost: Free (but registration is required)

Limited snacks and game jam supplies provided - please let us know your dietary requirements when registering.

🥗 Lunch Break

We’ll break for lunch around 1pm-2pm and you’re welcome to bring your own lunch and enjoy a picnic in the gardens, or explore one of the nearby cafés and eateries within or around the Botanic Gardens. It’s a great chance to take in the scenery, recharge, and chat with fellow jammers before diving back into creation!

🌼 Who Should Come

GLAM professionals (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums)
Creatives: game developers, designers, artists, and writers
Students and researchers in creative disciplines
Anyone curious about games, play, and the natural world

No experience necessary - just bring your curiosity and imagination!

🌻 Hosted by

Presented by The Playful Cultures Lab and UniSA: Creative, in collaboration with the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

Organised by Sophia Booij (PhD Candidate, UniSA: Creative), Associate Professor Erik Champion (Chair of Cultural Heritage and Digital Humanities), and Dr Susannah Emery (Lecturer in Game Design)

🌿 Getting There

The Adelaide Botanic Gardens are easy to reach by public transport, bike, or car. The Goodman Lecture Theatre is located in the Goodman Building (entrance on Hackney Road). The building looks like this:

🚋 Tram
Take the Tram to the Botanic Gardens Tram Stop and enjoy a short stroll through the gardens to the Goodman Building (head towards Hackney Road).
You can find the Goodman Building (location of the jam) on this map at E17: Adelaide Botanic Gardens Map (PDF)

🚌 Bus
Bus stops Stop 2 Hackney Road and Stop 1 Botanic Road are both conveniently located for accessing the Goodman Building.

🚗 Driving
Paid parking is available at the Goodman Building Car Park or along Plane Tree Drive. Please note that spaces can be limited, so consider carpooling or arriving early if you plan to drive.

🌿 What to Bring

A laptop (if you plan to make a digital prototype)
Favourite pens, markers, paper, or craft materials (optional - we’ll also bring a limited selection of supplies!)
A spirit of curiosity, play, and collaboration

🌷 Register Now

Places are limited so register early to join us among the flowers and ferns!