The design of location-based games (LBGs) for cultural heritage should ensure the active participation and
contribution of local communities and heritage professionals to achieve contextual relevance,
importance, and content validity. This paper presents an approach and methods of the participatory and
co-design of LBGs that promote awareness and learning about the intangible cultural heritage of
craftsmanship and artisanal technology throughout a long-term project from sensitization to
implementation. Following the design thinking process, we outline the participatory methods (and reflect
on results and lessons learnt) of involving cultural heritage professionals, local communities, and visitors
(users) of museums and cultural settlements, mainly: field visits, design workshops, field playtesting, and
field studies. We discuss issues of participatory design that we experienced throughout the project such
as participant centrality and representativeness, producing tangible output from meetings, co-creation of
content via playtesting, and implications from the pandemic. This work contributes a case of participatory
and co-design of LBGs for cultural heritage that is characterized by longevity and engagement throughout
the design process for three LBGs of a museum network in different cultural sites.
