Educational Games and their forms

Educational games are designed to help people learn about certain topics, expand concepts, reinforce development or assist them in learning a skill as they play. They use motivational qualities of games for relevant learning purposes, meaning knowledge acquisition, skill acquisition or training and/or attitude or behavior change.

Educational games are enhanced when incorporated into a specific context that is relevant for the players. Games can be used as a starting point to a topic where participants first struggle: they play a game and then are introduced to a theoretical knowledge of how to approach the topic or to turn theory into action.

Seemingly, there is no formal satisfactory classification of games/educational games, and with so many variables, it is incredibly difficult to come up with one. However, we could divide games looking at their most common type and technical execution. We looked at what types of games are often transformed into educational games and came up with the following matrix:

Most common game types:

• Simulation – games that normally simulate a real event or a realistic situation, where players act as themselves. Simulation games are great for practicing and building confidence of players in a certain matter or experiencing a situation from your own perspective, which allows to adjust attitudes;
• Roleplay – games that normally create a story where players take up a new identity. In roleplays you can modulate a situation for a specific purpose and have players experience something while in the shoes of another person, which allows to acquire a new point of view;
• Puzzle – games that normally challenge players to gain specific information to find out a correct answer. Puzzle games can be adapted to serve team-building purposes or further developing critical thinking skills of the players; 
• Adventure – games that normally use created game world for exploration and interaction among players. Adventure games allow to share a common team experience and can be adapted for team-building purposes or knowledge building if set at a specific location.

Most common game execution:

• Tabletop games – games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games;
• Large-Scale Games – games that are normally played with a group and involve physical movement, discovery, interaction with one another in different spaces; 
• Video Games – games that are played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a display;
• Conversation Games – games that normally do not involve lots of movement and are based on verbal interaction among players;
• Escape Games – games that involve a team of players cooperatively discover clues, solve puzzles and accomplish tasks in order to progress and accomplish a specific goal.

In no way we claim this to be an exhaustive game classification, but this is something that we consider in Shokkin Group when developing new educational games. We look at the appropriate execution format and possible type or a combination to fit the chosen topic and target group.

If you have experience developing educational games, how would you classify games and how do you choose which type of game to develop?

Do you have a thought or comment? Get in touch with us!