The games developed within the framework of MARRES To The World are used in the context of various public events to help people discover the Ocean, and the Mediterranean in particular, and to make them think about the associated socio-environmental issues.
Contact us if you want to join the initiative! msc-marres@univ-cotedazur.fr
MARREX: The Marine Explorer
MARREX is an educational board game developed by the MSc MARRES community at Université Côte d’Azur. It invites players to explore the ocean through quiz-based challenges on marine biodiversity, ecosystems, conservation, human impacts, sustainable development and ocean literacy. With more than 200 questions and several levels of difficulty, it can be used with pupils from around 10 years old, as well as with older students and general audiences. The game is designed to share scientific knowledge while encouraging curiosity, discussion and collective thinking about the future of the ocean.
The game was first imagined in a very simple form, sketched on a piece of paper for an early Fête de la Science activity. It was then gradually improved through outreach events, exchanges with pupils and teachers, and contributions from MARRES students, alumni, lecturers and the programme team. MARREX took a more professional format thanks to the momentum created by the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in 2025. During UNOC, Université Côte d’Azur used MARREX in outreach activities with school groups at La Baleine, the public-facing space of the conference. In this context, the game helped make complex ocean issues more accessible, interactive and engaging during a major international ocean event.
Today, MARREX is used in classrooms, science festivals and ocean outreach activities. Thanks to Université Côte d'Azur / Idex / France 2030 fundings, game boxes have been shared with middle and high school classes across the Région Sud, from Nice to Fréjus, as well as with organisations involved in ocean education and outreach, including Les Glénans in Concarneau, one of France’s most emblematic sailing schools, the Maison de la Mer in Lorient, and Génération Mer in Paris. Beyond the game itself, MARREX is also part of a broader reflection on learning through play, developed with different actors from the French education system. It shows how serious games can support ocean literacy and make scientific knowledge more accessible.
Our other games
Who lives Here? | Qui Vit Où? combines a video game and a board game: after training on the computer, the players replace a variety of marine organisms in their environment (rock, seagrass, sand, open water) with an animator to learn about the different ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea and the adaptation of fish and marine invertebrates.
The Mediterranean Twister | Le Twister de la Méditerranée is a board game (floor) where players have to position their hands and/or feet on pads representing different Mediterranean sea animals. The idea is to use one's sense of balance to stay on one's feet while learning the names of marine animals. The aim is to be the last one on the mat, as the others have fallen off. This game is freely inspired from the Twister trademark of Hasbro Inc.
