Quest science award nomination

Date: August 2026
Award: Quest · Research of the Year

Ludus Coriovalli nominated for the Quest Research of the Year award

The Roman game board from Heerlen, game pieces and a reconstruction of its moves

The GameTable research paper Ludus Coriovalli: Using Artificial Intelligence-Driven Simulations to Identify Rules for an Ancient Board Game, published in Antiquity, was nominated for a Quest Wetenschapslintje in the “Research of the Year” (Onderzoek van het jaar) category. The Dutch science magazine Quest selected the research as one of five contenders for its public-vote award.

The study combines archaeological evidence, wear traces, detailed 3D scans and artificial intelligence to investigate possible rules for a Roman board game discovered in Heerlen. It connects GameTable research on game-playing AI and the cultural heritage of games.

Voting has closed. The public vote ran until October 7, 2026, inclusive. This archived news records the nomination.

Read Maastricht University’s announcement ↗

Read the Antiquity paper ↗

Éric Piette’s news announcement ↗

COST

COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Our Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This boosts their research, career and innovation.

ACTION CA22145

GameTable – Computational Techniques for Tabletop Games Heritage. An international and interdisciplinary network of scholars and stakeholders from all career stages across academia, industry, and heritage institutions to inspire methodologies and applications on how to use game AI to study, reconstruct, and preserve the intangible cultural heritage of games.

Action Details

Action Chair: Dr. Éric Piette
Start Date: 24 October 2023
End Date: 23 October 2027
Approval date: 16 May 2023
Grant Holder: UCLouvain

Email: eric.piette@uclouvain.be