Le Grand Jeu 

Le Grand Jeu came to me not as a board game, but as a living idea, a way to learn, reflect, and create together. Co-designed by my friends Federico and Raffaella, and nourished by a constellation of artists, hackers, and makers, it gathers people around one simple act: to play seriously.

My first studies were in biology, with a major in ethology, the science of behavior. Years later, while working at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, I kept encountering the idea that play is never just a pastime. It’s how nature teaches focus, creativity, and, to each sentient little one, the craft of its own survival.

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Every young creature plays to learn; we’re the only species that tries to turn learning into work. 

 

Le Grand Jeu reminded me of that. I was delighted to meet kindred spirits in Federico and Raffaella through this project, where they were bringing gaming back to the table of serious matters.

 

Together with its creators, I helped adapt the game to the world of scientific outreach in physics, bringing topics like nuclear fusion or blockchain to life through play. We hosted sessions where people played for hours: thinking, arguing, laughing, and learning about complex ideas without ever noticing how deep they had gone. Watching this happen felt like seeing communication return to its natural form: collaborative, embodied, joyful.

For me, Le Grand Jeu stands as proof that when a subject feels too abstract, too costly, or too complex to communicate, there’s always another way,  make a game out of it. That’s what I call craft: designing conditions where people can learn by doing, connect by playing, and leave with ideas that truly belong to them.