Albeit a wide range of e-participation platforms being already available, the level of public participation remains low. Governments around the world as well as academia are currently exploring new ways to design participation methods that are more engaging to use and will foster participation. One of the strategies is gamification. By adding game elements to e-participation platforms it is hoped to motivate for citizens to engage. This paper reviewed a large number of e-participation platforms, seeking to provide an overview of the current state of the art of so-called gamified participation initiatives. Our results show that while about half of the review projects can be categorized as game-related, only a small amount employs gamification. Moreover, current gamified participation initiatives seem to focus on reward-based gamification, a strategy which is said to come with risks. In this paper we further provide recommendations for future gamified participation projects.

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Recent evaluations have shown that up until now, e-participation platforms have not been very effective in involving citizens in public decision-making. This is partly due to these novel forms of engagement not seeming to reach citizens beyond the "usual suspects" of public participation. A trending approach to make these platforms more attractive, especially for less involved social groups, is to incorporate game-like elements. This research investigates the influence of demographical variables on participation and motivation when using a mobile gamified participation application. Our results show that participation was affected by age. The data further suggests that youth is both interested in urban planning and welcomes mobile participation forms, whereas older individuals feel less invited by novel technologies and engage less. Yet, older individuals and those less enthusiastic about games were not entirely put off by the included game elements.

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