Case Study: Ou Game – Amos Rex

A foresight-driven design project by Tngl Studio

In 2023-2024, Tngl Studio partnered with Amos Rex to test a new way of engaging museum visitors. Developed in close collaboration with Kristiina Syssoev and Melanie Orenius from Amos Rex, the project gave life to the Ou Game: a multilingual, interactive card game shaped by service design, foresight, and educational theory. Inspired by Ou—a shapeshifting emotional being that has been part of Amos Rex’s identity since the beginning—the game encourages curiosity, dialogue, and playful encounters. It bridges ages and cultures, making art feel more personal and inclusive.

The project began with a guiding question: how can a museum invite visitors not just to look at art, but to truly connect with it—and with each other?

From the outset, the goals were clear: to enhance visitor engagement through game-based interaction, to translate Amos Rex’s identity into tangible tools, and to ensure the result was inclusive—multilingual, age-friendly, and sensitive to different sensory needs. Above all, the team wanted something durable, pedagogically sound, and emotionally resonant.

Identity & Inspiration

Language was central. Amos Rex works in three languages—Finnish, Swedish, and English—not as an afterthought, but as part of its DNA. This multilingual approach is woven into every aspect of the museum’s identity, reflecting its commitment to openness and inclusivity. The Ou Game carries this principle forward in its very design: each deck is trilingual, with every card written in Finnish, Swedish, and English side by side. One version, three languages—so everyone plays together.

The brief from Amos Rex described Ou as “a ball of exploding emotions.” A character that changes size and color with its moods—pale blue when sad, orange when happy, dark red when angry. Ou collects things, reacts to art, and resonates especially with children, who seem to understand it intuitively. This character became the foundation for the card game. The Ou Game carries that same emotional fluidity into a format that anyone can pick up, use, and play with in the museum.

Lowering Barriers to Art

Just as importantly, the game was designed to lower the barrier many people feel when speaking about art. Too often, visitors hesitate because they “don’t know enough.” The Ou Game reframes that hesitation into curiosity, giving permission to explore, to notice, and to discover one’s own art persona—without fear of being wrong.

Design & Development

The Studio’s process unfolded in three phases. From August to December 2023, the team immersed themselves in research and discovery. They scanned global museum learning methods, studied play theory and inclusive design standards, and spoke with children, families, educators, older adults, and international visitors. Through a futures lens, they mapped how cultural spaces might evolve in response to long-term trends in wellbeing and inclusivity. Tools like the Value Proposition Canvas and Value Stream Mapping helped clarify who the game was for and how it should be delivered.

From January to March 2024, the focus shifted to prototyping and iteration. Early decks of cards were tested with school groups and multilingual families. Visual and sensory adjustments followed: fonts, colors, and tactile elements were refined for accessibility. Real museum playtests shaped the prompts and flow of the game, ensuring it worked in practice as well as in theory.

By April, the project was ready for delivery and activation. The final Ou Game launched as a museum resource, available in one trilingual edition. Educators and staff were trained to use the game in workshops and tours, while ongoing evaluation gathered feedback on engagement, accessibility, and emotional impact.

Strategic Significance & Impact

For Tngl Studio, the Ou Game is more than a finished product. It is a prototype of how cultural engagement can look in the future. The project shows that foresight and play can make art more accessible, that inclusion can be joyful rather than functional, and that cultural institutions gain strength when they treat tools as strategic prototypes rather than visitor add-ons.

The impact has been clear:

“It’s quickly become one of my favourite pedagogical tools to use with museum groups. Adding game features to a guided tour isn’t just for fun, it’s an effective way of breaking the ice, and it breaks down the hierarchical structures between the guide and the group (and the sometimes challenging art).”

— Melanie Orenius, Head of Learning and Engagement, Amos Rex

The game emerges as a strong reference for inclusive museum tools and points to a new model of cultural institutions as studios for human connection.

With thanks to Amos Rex — Kristiina Syssoev and Melanie Orenius — for co-creating and testing the Ou Game.