Dutch Games Industry
About Energiegames
Energiegames is a Dutch organisation founded by Machiel Bakx — an energy transition professional with over two decades of experience bridging the gap between technical complexity and political decision-making. The organisation develops and facilitates serious games specifically designed to make the energy transition understandable and actionable for a wide range of audiences, from local councillors and policymakers to entrepreneurs, specialists, and secondary school students.
Their game portfolio covers core themes of the Dutch energy transition: heating buildings off the gas grid, grid congestion and energy hubs, sustainable business districts, the energy system at a municipal level, and — in concept phase — biobased construction linked to agricultural land use. Several games can be played on the actual map of a participant's own region, using real geodata, which significantly increases relevance and ownership among players.
The underlying philosophy is that the energy transition is fundamentally a collective challenge: it requires not just technical insight, but shared understanding and the ability to reach consensus across stakeholders. Serious games serve as a structured conversation tool — participants learn by doing, gain a sense of scale and trade-offs, and experience firsthand that collaboration is essential to reach any goal. The format is deliberately accessible: sessions can run as short as one hour, yet can also go deeper with specialist groups.
Energiegames collaborates with energy and spatial planning specialists to ensure both content quality and process facilitation. Custom game development is also available for organisations with specific regional or thematic needs.
Their game portfolio covers core themes of the Dutch energy transition: heating buildings off the gas grid, grid congestion and energy hubs, sustainable business districts, the energy system at a municipal level, and — in concept phase — biobased construction linked to agricultural land use. Several games can be played on the actual map of a participant's own region, using real geodata, which significantly increases relevance and ownership among players.
The underlying philosophy is that the energy transition is fundamentally a collective challenge: it requires not just technical insight, but shared understanding and the ability to reach consensus across stakeholders. Serious games serve as a structured conversation tool — participants learn by doing, gain a sense of scale and trade-offs, and experience firsthand that collaboration is essential to reach any goal. The format is deliberately accessible: sessions can run as short as one hour, yet can also go deeper with specialist groups.
Energiegames collaborates with energy and spatial planning specialists to ensure both content quality and process facilitation. Custom game development is also available for organisations with specific regional or thematic needs.