Jacob Schmidt-Madsen

Jacob Schmidt-Madsen is an Affiliated External Researcher in the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen and is associated with the Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) research group at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. His scholarly work focuses on the cultural history of games across time and space, with particular expertise in traditional South Asian gaming traditions.

Schmidt-Madsen specializes in how formal game systems function as vehicles for meaning in contexts of ritual, divination, education, and other serious-yet-playful practices. His doctoral research examined the Indian origins of 'Snakes & Ladders,' revealing its deep cosmological significance beyond mere entertainment. He employs diverse methodologies including textual analysis, visual studies, material culture examination, and ethnographic fieldwork conducted in South Asian archives.

His recent publications demonstrate a scholarly trajectory connecting ancient gaming traditions with contemporary digital platforms, with particular attention to how games serve as cosmological models and transmit cultural knowledge across trans-regional Asia. Schmidt-Madsen's work bridges historical analysis with contemporary game studies, revealing continuities in how humans use structured play to understand and navigate their worlds.

Schmidt-Madsen actively contributes to the international board game studies community as a frequent presenter at the Board Game Studies Colloquium and Ludofest. He serves on the editorial board of the Board Game Studies journal and reviews for Game Studies journal. He is the Management Committee member for Denmark in the GameTable COST Action, which connects 200 game researchers from 50 countries.

Currently, Schmidt-Madsen is translating three encyclopedic game texts from nineteenth-century India and developing a monograph to introduce traditional South Asian games to both scholars and general readers. He also participates in the 'Hopeless Games' design collective that explores intersections between art, games, and storytelling, connecting his academic research with practical game design.