Learning games

A learning game is designed to be used for or with educational goals (Eng, 2020). A learning game may be designed from the point of conception to be a learning game, or it may be adapted for the purpose of teaching and learning. It may be a game in the strict sense of the word, that is, activities that have an explicit goal, in which players interact with other players or with the game environment. Simulations on the other hand represent recreations of real life situations where individuals are expected to practice what they would do if confronted with those situations in real life (Eng, 2019). Learning games are interactive and they provide fun as while learning go on. They are different from the didactic pedagogy that uses lectures, or textbooks and assignments to facilitate learning. This mode of knowledge dissemination is considered boring by many but learning games offer fun, and excitement to the player who has a clear goal and immediately has a sense of fulfilment upon achieving their goal of conquering the game. Learning games are also called educational games.

One learning game is Monopoly. The game is about creating and managing wealth. Players take turns to throw dice to determine how many steps they must move on the Monopoly board and if they stop on lots that are available for sale they may choose to buy or auction. Players can build houses and ultimately, hotels on the lots to attract huge returns, and the greater the investment, the greater the return. Players may also stop at chance spots where they have to do whatever the chance cards offers them, including going to jail, getting a bonus or suffering a major loss. Monopoly teaches people how to invest and build wealth, while helping them to understand that some things are outside their control (Chance events).

[The Official Rules of Pandemic Monopoly | The New Yorker]

We can see how it is played here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nz-_hvFw44

Reviewers of this game talk about it’s educational value. One wrote:

Bought this game as a Christmas gift for my 6 year old grandchild as she loves family game time. It is not only a fun game, but educational as well. It teaches the value of money and making good financial choices regarding real estate investments. As she is a avid reader, this game also assist in her reading and mathematical skills and being a good sport when there is financial and/or property loss. Most of all, I love that she likes to play a regular board game that is not electronic! (Kato, game reviewer)

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/reviews/hasbro-monopoly-classic-board-game/6371039

An online learning game, Europe Geography helps players learn about the countries of Europe and their capitals, a task that may be very boring and laborious outside the game setting https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.age.europe.appspot&hl=en&gl=US. The game also helps players to learn about rivers mountains and other things related to the geography of Europe. The idea behind this can be applied to the geography of other regions of the world and subnational geography.

Here is an image from the game.

A reviewer wrote:

One of the best quiz games I have ever played, hands down. Leveling system keeps the motivation and curiosity up. Arena (1v1) is also a nice addition and I hope to see it introduced in World Geography, too. Actually, the whole user interface should be put into World Geography, if possible, with keys and everything. I think it's better and gives people more freedom to choose what they want to learn more about.

References

Eng, D. (2019, June 25). Simulations vs Games. University XP. https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2019/6/25/simulations-vs-games

Eng, D. (2020, April 26). What is a learning game? Medium. https://medium.com/@davengdesign/what-is-a-learning-game-4b2f312fb7a