<< Back to EBOW overview for our project on Engaging Beyond Our Walls, including tasting menus of featured projects, tools and more.

Open the PDF to get started (published in 2024, edition 1a, 30 mb). If you need a smaller file size, you can also download our compressed version (10 mb).

Overview: This Recipe Book is published by the Playful City Lab at American University. It provides a collection of 15+ story game “recipes” to engage communities and strengthen local places. The book includes recipes for activities like text-based interactions with sculptures, ghost tours, trivia walks, photo collecting, and more. Each recipe outlines steps to prepare, mix, and launch the activity, along with suggestions for expansions and substitutions. The book emphasizes using local cultural assets and simple design principles to create engaging community experiences.

Citation suggestion: Stokes, B., Arroyo, H., Couture, M., Schoenborn, E., & Mrizek, M., Saliba, A. (2024). The EBOW Recipe Book for Engaging Beyond Our Walls (1a ed.). Washington, DC: Playful City Lab. https://playfulcity.net/go/ebow/recipe-book/

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Featured recipes

1. Text with a Sculpture
2. Ghost Tour
3. Unlocking Walk with Trivia
4. I-Spy Photo Collecting
5. Escape-the-Tour Challenge
6. Voice Guide with Insider Choices
7. Sequencing Puzzle for a Place
8. Phone Calls that Lead a Hunt
9. Reenactment Tour with Media
10. Storytelling Box with Touchscreen

Why recipes?
Like a recipe book, we hope this book will:
* get you inspired to make something;
* build your sense of the ingredients, proportions and sequencing — and build your intuition about patterns;
* empower you to find substitutions or combine ideas to match your local assets and culture

>> For more on the project behind this book, see the EBOW overview.