Play to Learn: Everything You Need to Know About Designing Effective Learning Games

Preface

Mind-blowing.

That was the one-word description a player gave a few years ago when asked to share his reaction to a learning game called A Paycheck Away. The feedback perfectly captured the “why” of learning games. Most of us have not heard learners use the adjective mind-blowing to describe their reaction to any other sort of learning activity we’ve developed. Clearly, for this learner, the learning game he played had achieved its potential. It gained and kept his attention, fully immersing him in a learning experience.

There is a large body of research that shows that games are more effective than lecture-based approaches to learning. In addition, games offer compelling ways to help people learn strategy, resource allocation, and innovative ...