The present article attempts to interpret science communication as a media-aesthetic practice by examining the development of a playful format within a humanities research laboratory. The laboratory is understood as a hybrid between a spatial format and an academic formation, in which design, equipment, and specific practices are interwoven. The focus is thus on the dynamic interaction between space and actors, conceived as an interdependent system encompassing five practices: documenting, researching, playing, negotiating, and producing. These practices are illustrated through the development of a board game as a format of science communication, which is accompanied and documented using ethnographic methods. This case study ultimately reflects on the innovative potential of the game as a (research) format, (research) method, and (research) subject. From this perspective, the framework develops a specific ‘laboratory atmosphere’. A ‘laboratory’ of this kind can thus be characterized as an experimental space that confronts conventional methods with aesthetic explorations.