Developed through Enhancing Research Culture funding at the University of Bath, the Integrity Quest is an innovative board game designed to help researchers engage with research ethics and integrity in an active, collaborative, and thought-provoking way.
The game uses cooperative play and scenario-based learning to encourage discussion around ethical dilemmas and research integrity challenges. By working together to navigate realistic situations, participants are invited to consider different perspectives, question assumptions, and explore how decisions are made within complex research environments.
Created as an alternative to more traditional training approaches, the Integrity Quest aims to make research ethics and integrity more accessible, engaging, and relevant to researchers across disciplines. Initially developed for doctoral researchers, the game has been designed to support interdisciplinary learning, recognising that research cultures, norms, and practices can vary significantly between fields.
Since its development, the game has been used in workshops bringing together researchers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. These sessions provide opportunities for participants to share experiences, learn from one another, and reflect on how ethical principles apply within their own research contexts.
The project has also benefited from pilot gameplay sessions and was showcased at the Bath Festival of Ideas, helping to bring conversations about research ethics and integrity to a wider audience.
Through The Integrity Quest, we hope to foster meaningful discussions about responsible research practices and inspire new approaches to ethics and integrity education both within and beyond the University of Bath.
How to Play
The game involves each player taking on a character role within a research team. Together, players work together to score points across the four phases of a research project: Planning, Data Collection, Analysis, and Publication.
Players will need to discuss and reflect on complex scenarios, developing their understanding of responsible research practices - all whilst trying to keep team motivation and wellbeing high!
Watch the short video above to find out how to play the Integrity Quest board game. Each version of the board game contains its own rule book, but this video provides some helpful tips and a demonstration of the game being played in action!
Re-using and Adapting the Game
This game was born out of our desire to make ethics more exciting and accessible to academic students. Along the way, it turned into a really exciting and rewarding side project alongside the team's normal work schedules. We hope our audiences enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed making it.
We have provided the necessary material to print and adapt this game at home, so you can tailor it to suit any audience interested in ethical research practice. Whether you are working with secondary school, undergraduate or masters students, Doctoral researchers, established academics, or even corporate trainees, we hope you find this a fun and engaging way to explore ethical practices together.
In accordance with our Creative Commons licence, we ask that you maintain the creators’ names and that the game is not commercialised. This includes selling the game or monetising an event where the game is played.
You can access the Integrity Quest board game materials here.
Authors and Licensing
Created by Cosmin Mudure, Jacob Barker, Oli Schofield, Filipa Vance and Fran Baber
Design by Pascale Dilger
Integrity Quest © University of Bath 2026. This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.