A new educational game from the FFA Research Centre – Andre miri cipa / In My Skin
The narrative educational game Andre miri cipa / In My Skin, developed at the FFA Research Centre, offers insights into the experiences of people facing anti-Roma discrimination, social exclusion and racial prejudice in contemporary Czech society. The game draws on real-life experiences gathered through participatory research and is primarily intended for students in the 8th and 9th grades of primary school. From 22 October 2026, it will also be available free of charge to the general public on Steam for Windows and Mac, followed by its release on the App Store and Google Play on 29 October. A public presentation of the game, followed by a discussion, will also take place on 22 October 2026 at the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno as part of the 2026 Museum of Romani Culture Awards.
The three chapters of Andre miri cipa are connected by the legend of the magical mirror Romano Gendalos and scenes from a utopian future in which racism and discrimination exist only as bitter memories. Players gradually follow the stories of young Romani people who encounter prejudice in everyday situations. They accompany Vanessa, who faces judgement because of her distinctive style of dress; Robin, who experiences racism during an ordinary trip to a convenience store; and Maria, who, together with her family, struggles in vain to find a new home due to discrimination in the housing market. The characters’ stories are based on authentic testimonies from Romani participants gathered through participatory research. The research also yielded an important finding: “The research activities carried out by small teams comprising both Czech and Romani students confirmed that young people face similar problems and concerns regardless of their ethnicity or skin colour. The differences that are so often emphasised are, for the most part, much more closely linked to social class. Paradoxically, middle-class Roma, who are more likely to integrate into the life of the majority society, face far greater prejudice, stereotyping and distrust, even though their material and cultural lifestyles are very similar to those of the majority,” says Irena Kašparová, a social anthropologist at the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno.
The aim of the game is to offer young people an accessible, sensitive and engaging tool that helps them better understand discrimination, inequality and social exclusion. The choice of a digital game is no coincidence: its format makes it possible to reach young people even if they might not otherwise be interested in the subject. Andre miri cipa / In My Skinis designed for use in the lower secondary grades of Czech primary schools, particularly in civics, history and Czech language lessons. Each chapter is designed to be played and discussed within a single lesson. The project also includes a certified teaching guide to support the effective and repeated use of the game in schools. “The guide will offer recommended approaches to using the game in the classroom, suggestions for follow-up discussions and an encyclopaedia of key terms that place the characters’ experiences in the broader context of social sciences and modern history,” explains Mgr. Vladimír Holík, an educator and co-author of the guide at the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University.
“The Andre miri cipa game development project seeks to combat anti-Romani discrimination, foster mutual understanding and strengthen solidarity—not only among pupils, but also among members of the wider public who encounter the game. This is why the game will be freely available beyond the school environment as well,” says MgA. Martina Růžičková, Ph.D., a designer, assistant professor at FFA and principal investigator of the game development project.
“Every day, my own life confirms how important this game is. We need to keep talking about these stories so that, as a society, we can live together without barriers and prejudice,” says Denis Kozerawski, a Romani artist and creator of the game’s visual identity. “Differences exist between us, but there is no justification for them becoming the reason why a part of the population is denied the chance to succeed when there is no valid reason they should be,” Kozerawski adds. He is one of the members of the interdisciplinary development team, which brought together Romani and non-Romani artists and researchers.
The game Andre miri cipa / In My Skin will be presented for the first time on Thursday, 22 October, at 17:00 at the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno as part of the 2026 Museum of Romani Culture Awards. The awards ceremony and the game presentation will also be streamed live online via ROMEA TV. A further presentation followed by a discussion will take place on 18 November at 19:30 at ARCHA+ in Prague.
The game will be available to download free of charge from the App Store, Google Play and Steam. It will be available for PC, macOS, tablets and mobile phones, in Czech or with English subtitles.
The digital game Andre miri cipa / In My Skin was developed with state support from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (project TQ01000081) as part of the SIGMA Programme, in collaboration with the Faculty of Fine Arts of Brno University of Technology, the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University and the Faculty of Education at Masaryk University.
| Author | Mgr. Tímea Vitázková |
|---|---|
| Published | |
| Short URL | https://www.favu.vut.cz/en//f26745/d372895 |