Design Installation REFUGEOLY. Play as a refugee as you try and navigate your way to safety.
Design Installation REFUGEOLY. Play as a refugee as you try and navigate your way to safety.
Refugeoly is a serious game whose main purpose is not just playing for fun, but playing to create awareness about this humanitarian crisis. This game is designed to help players understand the dramatic journey of refugees trying to reach a country of asylum. Playing Refugeoly turns you into a refugee and makes you conscious of the real struggles refugees face on their journey to safety. The game was developed using testimonies from refugees and NGO volunteers in camps across Greece, Turkey, Spain, and France.
A key aspect of Refugeoly is the use of money. Players, acting as refugees, need large sums to reach safety—but the game reveals how this money slips from their hands and ends up with the Mafia. Whether paying smugglers to cross the Mediterranean, buying fake documents, or just securing a tent, the game exposes the harsh financial realities of displacement.
The main inspiration for Refugeoly is the famous game Monopoly (Refugee + Monopoly = Refugeoly), chosen for its simple money mechanics. But while Monopoly is about buying property, Refugeoly uses money to survive—highlighting exploitation instead of wealth.
About the Host
Vicente Esteban / https://www.refugeoly.org/
Vicente Esteban (Vinny Montag)
Associate Professor at Xian Jiantong-Liverpool University in Suzhou Design Department (China).
Affilations: Goldsmiths University of London / Royal College of Art (London, UK).
Links
https://vinnymontag.academia.edu/
http://vinnymontag.blogspot.com/
https://www.refugeoly.org/
BIO
Vicente Esteban is the Program Director and Associate Professor in the Industrial Design Department at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou, China. Originally from Cádiz, Spain, Vicente has a foundational background in mechanics and applied arts. His formal studies include a Master’s in Information Experience Design from the Royal College of Art, funded by the BURBERRY scholarship, and a Bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Design from Goldsmiths, University of London.
With extensive experience across industry and academia, Vicente has collaborated with major companies such as Worldpay, Burberry, Statoil, AGA, and Linde Engineering, and has contributed to prominent art and design institutions, including the Barbican, Sustrans, Furtherfield Gallery, and Zadok Studio. In London, he taught in the Design Department at Goldsmiths and at the London College of Fashion (UAL), covering a broad range of design and innovation topics.
As a Practice-Based Designer, Vicente emphasizes making and materiality, integrating hand-crafted prototypes with machine manufacturing. His recent work focuses on Sustainable Design Practice and Social Innovation Design, tackling issues like sanitation and deforestation. His teaching areas include Visual Communication, Design Experience, and Futurism / Speculative Design, fostering hands-on learning to inspire innovative approaches in design.
