We are pleased to announce a new project based at the Center for Historical Games and Heritage (C-HIGHER) at the Faculty of History, University of Gdańsk. Built in collaboration with the international research community, the Living Handbook of Historical Game Studies will be a comprehensive, open-access digital encyclopaedia covering key concepts (such as “authenticity”), agendas (e.g. “peace-gaming”), and subfields (e.g. “postcolonial game studies”) related to the study of history and games.
What is a “living” handbook? An online, wiki-based platform where peer-reviewed chapters are published in open access, and may be updated and revised by their authors over time. In adopting this format, we draw inspiration from projects such as the Living Handbook of Narratology and the Encyclopaedia of Ludic Terms. Ongoing editorial care and curation will be provided by the C-HIGHER research team.
Once a substantial body of chapters has been assembled, the collection will also be published as a standard edited volume (PDF). The online version, however, will remain the primary publication, and is intended to continue growing as new chapters are added. This format will allow the handbook to evolve alongside the field, providing a stable reference work while remaining responsive to new developments.
Publisher
Faculty of History, University of Gdańsk
Editors
- Michał Mochocki, Associate Professor, University of Gdańsk (C-HIGHER)
- Ewelina Gdaniec, Assistant Professor, University of Gdańsk (C-HIGHER)
Additional co-editors may join the team.
Timeline
- Summer 2026 – invitations sent to authors
- Winter 2026 – first-stage chapters submitted
- Spring 2027 – peer review of the first stage completed
- Summer 2027 – Living Handbook goes live
Funding
The online encyclopaedia is a non-profit collaborative project launched without external funding. Editorial work is carried out by C-HIGHER staff employed at the Faculty of History, UG. Website maintenance is provided by the university’s IT team. Chapters are contributed and peer-reviewed on a voluntary basis.
We plan to seek external funding for the edited-volume PDF version, in which case contributors will receive compensation.
There are no author fees, processing charges, or subscription costs.
Get involved
You may be interested in joining the project as a co-editor, a chapter author, a reviewer or advisor. If you would like to participate, please contact the corresponding editor Dr. Ewelina Gdaniec – ewelina.gdaniec@ug.edu.pl. We look forward to building this resource together with colleagues from around the world.
