Micael Sousa is the creator of MS Serious Games. His passion for games led him to start several initiatives where games were used or transformed into tools for purposes beyond entertainment.
Picture by Joaquim Dâmaso
PhD in spatial planning, University of Coimbra & University of Porto (Portugal). Two graduations, one in civil engineering and the other in History. Two master’s degrees, one in energy and environment and the other in heritage studies.
Worked on several private and public construction projects and was the manager of the building maintenance system of the Polytechnic of Leiria. Between 2013 and 2017, he was the councillor’s advisor for urban planning and environment for Leiria City.
In 2014, he helped develop the local board game community group, having done several collective initiatives regarding game usage in local schools, health, and social institutions. In 2018, he created the “Jogos no Tabuleiro” YouTube channel, one of Portugal’s most active video platforms about modern board games. He co-founded the Asteriscos Association and the “Boardgamers de Leiria” project coordinator. He is a member of the staff of Leiriacon, the biggest board game convention in Portugal, and is the organizer of “Leiria Talks” (the academic event of Leiriacon).
Worked for Maldito Games (Spain), translating board game rulebooks. Developer of Moesterio board game, published by Pythagoras Games. Author of the “Print and Play games: “An Adventure on the Card” and “Urbanizing the Card” print; author of the analogue games for Craft my Street project ( Happy Village; Craft my Coast; Craft my Agenda; Carbon Neutrality); and author of the board game and design kit “Game Creator Set” (including Magic Pen) by Creative Toys.
Creator of several serious games, including those that supported the UrbSecurity project (Urbact) to foster collaborative planning dynamics with the local community. Member of the Gym2beKing project team about using modern board games to train soft skills for health students at the Polytechnic of Leiria, funded by the Gulbenkian Foundation. Member of the Flavour Game research team, a serious game research project about nutrition (being the leading game designer of the analogue game prototype). Game designer for serious games and gamification about participation for the Portuguese Administrative Modernization Agency (AMA) and FAB 2050 serious game about envision and foresight for PlanAPP (Portuguese National Agency). Serious game designer for the collaborative processes of the Municipal Health Plan for the Municipalities of Leiria and Marinha Grande (Portugal) and Sustainable Mobility Plan (PAMUS) for the Municipality of Santa Maria da Feira (Portugal). Game designer and facilitator for the Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos summer school editions.
Guest teacher at Lusófona University, Polytechnic of Leiria, IPAM (European University), and IADE – Creative University, teaching game design, analogue games, game prototyping, and serious game development and applications. Masters’ dissertations advisor and examiner (including PhD thesis). Research Center for Territory, Transports and Environment – CITTA (University of Coimbra); Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab – HEI-LAB (Lusófona University), Center of Innovative Care and Health Technology – ciTechCare (Polythenic of Leiria). Former post-doctoral research fellow at the Spatial Dynamics Lab, School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy of the University College Dublin: about applied games, planning support tools for decision-making, and civic engagement. Chief Game Designer at the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS). Associate Editor of the Simulation & Gaming Journal.
He collaborates with several ongoing projects about gamification and serious games, teaching in several courses. Collaborator of several research projects funded by the Portuguese National Agency for Science and Technology (FCT). Winner of the Portuguese national prize “Trainer of the Year” in 2019 and the Polytechnic of Leiria Alumni Carrer Award in 2024. Best paper award of the Game-on Conference of 2021. Member of the ISAGA (international association of serious games), SPCV (Portuguese association of videogame science), and Order of the Engineers (Portugal). Ad-hoc Urbact expert for The design and delivery of (transnational) exchange and learning activities; Thematic expertise in Education and Strategic Urban Planning; Methods and tools for integrated and participatory approaches (Integrated and participatory design of strategies). Certificated trainer (general) and teachers’ certified trainer by the Continuous Assessment Committee (University of Minho).
Picture: Serious game session for Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation national annual summer school
Videos
English interview for RTV Slovenia about Serious Games
Interview for the Portuguese SIC TV channel (video subtitles in English))
TEDx Alcobaça Talk about “Board games and the learning revolution” – Subtitles in English
Other social media and links:
MS Serious Games 