A Canadian study published in Psychological Medicine found that school-age boys who spend more time playing video games show decreased academic motivation in reading, writing, and math. Tracking 1,631 children from ages 7 to 10, researchers observed that each additional hour of gaming at age 7 predicted a 2% drop in motivation by age 8, a trend not seen in girls.
Read MoreTCB Games, a beloved game store in Huntington, Indiana, has operated for nearly 30 years out of a historic Carnegie Library, recognized by its green dragon head, "Charlie." Owner Todd Nightenhelser has built the store into a hub for geek culture, hosting events like Dungeons & Dragons campaigns and Magic: The Gathering nights.
Read MoreCode Ninjas, a new learning center at 513 1st Ave. West in Seattle, teaches children ages 5–14 coding and problem-solving through video game creation. Owned by Atul Goyal and his daughters Kaia and Kyra, the Queen Anne location aims to make STEM fun and accessible.
Read MoreGamification uses game-like rewards, points, and goals to keep people engaged with everyday apps in fitness, finance, and shopping. While it appears fun and motivating, it subtly shapes user behavior through psychological triggers like reward anticipation, loss aversion, and FOMO.
Read MoreTeachers can enhance literacy by treating narrative video games as texts, much like books. Just as students interpret books with compliant, negotiated, or oppositional readings, games can spark similar critical thinking and emotional engagement.
Read MoreThis article explores solo journaling games through the lenses of environmental humanities, queer studies, and game studies. By analyzing The Crushing Dark and Dwelling, the author highlights how these games engage with themes of precarity, porosity, and subjecthood.
Read MoreIncorporating video games into K-12 classrooms can boost student engagement and foster learner-centered environments, says William Watson of Purdue University. With 85% of U.S. teens playing video games—many daily—Watson argues that leveraging this familiarity can enhance learning.
Read MoreThe PAX East 2026 panel explored how collaborative games function as powerful tools for learning, empathy, and social change. Panelists shared real-world applications across education, counseling, and community spaces, emphasizing teamwork, reflection, and perspective-shifting experiences.
Read MoreColonial Williamsburg and iCivics offer two educational games—Uncovering Loyalties and Investigation Declaration—to engage students with early American history. Uncovering Loyalties immerses middle and high school students in 1774 Williamsburg, where they use critical thinking to explore differing views on independence.
Read MoreThe Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has launched Aivilization, the world’s largest AI multi-agent social simulation platform, featuring 100,000 AI agents interacting in a dynamic, MMO-like environment.
Read MoreGame difficulty is a crucial factor in mobile game design, especially in free-to-play models. While traditional strategies increase difficulty to drive in-app purchases, research by Netzer, Ascarza, and Runge reveals that lowering difficulty boosts engagement, retention, and long-term revenue.
Read More“Regime,” a card game developed by the Bill of Rights Institute and Game Genius, earned a gold medal in the 2025 International Serious Play Awards for excellence in educational gaming. Aimed at middle and high school students, the game teaches political and economic systems while fostering strategic thinking, negotiation, and adaptability.
Read MoreThe article explores the concept of simulation theory through the lens of video games, posing questions about whether life is a simulation and how video games inform our understanding of reality. It highlights the musings of Leon Kirkbeck, who suggests that moments of coincidence could be “lazy coding” in a simulation, and imagines life as a user-generated content platform like Roblox or Minecraft.
Read MoreThis summer, two high school interns, George Siri and Julia Rose Palad, supported the LEAP into the Loop Summer Camp at Warwick Public Library through the PrepareRI internship program. Inspired by Lyla in the Loop, the camp aimed to teach children computational thinking, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
Read MoreThis systematic review (2020–2025) explores the effectiveness of gamification in education, focusing on its impact on student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes. Analyzing 17 peer-reviewed studies, it identifies commonly used elements—points, badges, leaderboards, narrative, feedback, and student choice—as generally effective in increasing motivation and participation.
Read MoreIn the 21st century, while digital entertainment has surged, board games have made a strong comeback, especially modern "Eurogames" like Catan. These games differ from classics like Monopoly by emphasizing strategy over luck, eliminating player elimination, and minimizing chance.
Read MoreA randomized controlled study in Brazil examined the effects of Cucca Curiosa, a game-based cognitive training program, on executive functioning and math performance in 112 children aged 7 to 10. Over one week, the experimental group completed five short sessions of the game, which targeted skills like working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility.
Read MoreGamified Learning, grounded in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, transforms training into a purpose-driven, engaging experience by aligning with human motivation. It goes beyond points and badges, using psychological design to fulfill needs from connection to self-actualization.
Read MoreClassic light gun arcade games from the 1980s and 1990s, like Duck Hunt, Time Crisis, and Revolution X, pioneered educational principles still relevant today. These games provided immediate feedback, multisensory engagement, and progressive challenges—elements central to effective learning.
Read MoreDuring the Teachers on the Estuary workshop, Whitney Jenkins, Training Coordinator for the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, used games and candy to teach sustainable watershed management.
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