Thali Bento

Open Access Alchemy is an interactive card game designed to help academics and research staff navigate the complexities of open-access publishing. Created by librarians at Leeds Beckett University in collaboration with licensing experts from Springer Nature, the game provides an engaging, hands-on approach to understanding different Open Access models, publishing choices, and real-world challenges researchers face in scholarly communication. In this game, players take on the role of wizards competing to publish their arcane research. Throughout a series of rounds, they must strategise, manage publishing costs, and decide where to submit their work while encountering real-world-inspired scenarios that impact their journey. The game encourages discussion, problem-solving, and reflection on the intricacies of publishing open-access, making it a valuable tool for training and workshops. This resource includes the full game pack, with printable cards, game rules, and a facilitator guide to support gameplay, allowing institutions worldwide to use it in their own Open Access training sessions. We would like to extend our thanks to our playtesters for their valuable feedback in shaping Open Access Alchemy: James Alderson; Emma Bates; Sam Breese; Amy Campbell; Liz Mann; Debbie Morris; Jamie Phillips; and the Leeds Beckett Library Advice team. We would also like to thank our reviewers for refining the finished game: Chris Knowles, Bavo Thuwis. Finally, a special thank you to Dextrous, the platform we used to prototype and design our card decks. Your tools were key to bringing the game to life.

Presentation given at the Symplectic & Figshare EMEA User Meeting 2025 in London by Thali Bento, Research Services Advisor and Digital Library Advisor, Liz Mann, Digital Library Advisor, and Stuart Morris, REF & Research Policy Manager from Leeds Beckett University on LBU Discovery, an institution-wide project to enhance researcher visibility and collaboration through integrated Symplectic profiles.