Researchers at UC Santa Cruz and partner institutions have developed simulation games like Firewise Residents to help communities prepare for wildfires. These games confront players with difficult evacuation decisions, fostering awareness and dialogue.
Read MoreMatthew Keeler, an Army Reserve NCO, first got into tabletop gaming through fantasy figurines with friends, later discovering Warhammer 40,000. He was drawn to its deep strategy and sci-fi themes. Unlike simplified games like Risk, 40K emphasizes complex mechanics and long-term strategic thinking, offering lessons in planning, risk management, and decision-making that Keeler found useful in his military career.
Read MoreLegless in London, a board game developed by Dr. Ryan Sweet and Focus Games, won the Best Board or Tabletop Game for Impact at the 2025 Games for Change Awards. Based on Dr. Sweet’s research on disability history, the game immerses players in the lives of lower-limb amputees in Victorian London, challenging them to achieve personal goals.
Read MoreDating shows reflect a growing societal shift where spectacle is prioritized over sincerity, and romance is increasingly gamified. Filipino programs like Step in the Name of Love and Sparks Camp mirror this trend, transforming love into competition.
Read MoreHegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory is an educational yet engaging board game created by Varnavas Timotheou, simulating class-based economic dynamics within a fictional nation. Its asymmetric gameplay assigns players roles—Working Class, Capitalist, Middle Class, or State—each with unique goals and mechanics.
Read MoreBridge is emerging as a powerful educational tool in Scottish schools, supported by research from the University of Stirling and BAMSA. As Scotland reforms its curriculum, bridge is gaining recognition for enhancing social cooperation, mathematical thinking, and strategic reasoning.
Read MoreTabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) have surged in popularity since their 1970s origins, often drawing from fantasy and medieval themes. Medievalist Thom Gobbitt explores how TTRPGs can portray and teach about the early Middle Ages.
Read MoreA recent study led by UC Riverside psychologist Kate Sweeny found that playing Tetris can help reduce anxiety and boost emotional well-being by inducing a state of flow—a focused mental state where worries fade. In the experiment, 290 students played Tetris while anxiously waiting for peer feedback.
Read MoreThis study highlights a significant lack of diversity in the board game industry, particularly among top-ranked BoardGameGeek (BGG) games. White males dominate both game design and illustration roles, and cover art overwhelmingly features white, male imagery, misrepresenting real-world demographics.
Read MoreToday's students are digital natives who learn best through interactivity, yet gaming is still undervalued in many classrooms. Educational games harness problem-solving, experimentation, and collaboration—mirroring natural learning behaviors.
Read MoreAfter the COVID-19 pandemic, the author created N.O.V.E.L., an educational board game about vaccines. The design emphasized early collaboration with experts, ensuring scientific accuracy from the start. The game was tailored for real classrooms, with short, modular phases, alignment with curriculum standards, and easy-to-use teacher resources.
Read MoreThe U.S. defense community is increasingly drawn to integrating AI, simulations, and data modeling into military wargames, hoping to boost analytical rigor. However, experts caution that over-reliance on technology can distort wargaming’s core purpose: exploring human decision-making in complex, uncertain scenarios.
Read MoreGlobal tensions have increased interest in tabletop war-games, especially simulations of a potential Chinese blockade of Taiwan. At a Washington think tank, experts—many with access to classified information—play out these scenarios to explore strategic, military, and economic outcomes.
Read MoreGreenpeace has criticized Equinor for promoting fossil fuels through its UK school game, EnergyTown, which suggests renewables like wind and solar are less reliable than oil, gas, or nuclear. The game, part of Equinor’s Wonderverse education program, aims to teach students about energy and STEM skills.
Read MoreJob hunting today feels dehumanizing for young professionals, who face outdated hiring systems focused on risk reduction over potential. Gen Z, fluent in digital interaction, is filtered out by resume scanners and ignored by non-responsive employers. This mismatch—an experience gap—creates frustration and discouragement.
Read MoreUniversity of Queensland PhD scholar Achintha Abayasiri is researching how virtual reality (VR) games, such as VR table tennis, can make balance rehabilitation more enjoyable and effective. Using a VR headset, participants played while standing on a treadmill, with deliberate visual challenges to test and improve their balance.
Read MoreA study by researchers at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) found that commercial video games like Human Resource Machine and 7 Billion Humans can enhance beginners’ confidence and learning in programming courses.showed increased interest, self-efficacy, and understanding of computational thinking.
Read MoreUniversity of Queensland researcher Achintha Abayasiri is exploring how virtual reality (VR) games, like VR table tennis, can enhance balance rehabilitation by making exercises more engaging and effective. His study assessed participants’ balance using a VR headset while introducing subtle visual challenges to encourage postural adjustments.
Read MoreA study by media psychologists from the University of Cologne found that digital games can effectively educate people—especially those without depression—about the illness and reduce stigma. Participants who watched game clips about depression reported increased knowledge, emotional impact (like sadness and empathy), and motivation to learn more.
Read MoreResearchers used a high-tech simulation to study how seals navigate in dark, murky ocean waters. In a German lab, three seals watched a screen displaying moving starlike points, mimicking underwater movement.
Read More
