Jan 24Any game can inspire learning gamesFrom the playground to the car journey, take inspiration — My interest in games and things like games runs deep and has been with me for as long as I can remember. I used to play games walking along the street, based on which paving stones were okay to step on when I was very small. …Game Based Learning6 min readGame Based Learning6 min read
Jan 3The four ways to use games in learning:From adapting principles to going bespoke — I often have conversations with people who are enthused about using gamification, or games, in learning. But just as often, they’re a little hazy on exactly how they can do this. People use the term ‘gamifying’ something to mean anything from adding points to creating a full-blown simulation game. The…Game Based Learning5 min readGame Based Learning5 min read
Nov 15, 2022How Fantasy Football Can Inspire Learning Games:Putting a Game Layer on the World — One of my favourite ways to get inspiration for creating learning games is to look at as many different kinds of games as possible and ask, how do they tick? What makes them successful, how do they work? …Game Based Learning4 min readGame Based Learning4 min read
Oct 12, 2022Escape Rooms as Learning ExperiencesPart 4 — Your Learning Escape Room as a Smooth Experience — This is the fourth and final part in an article series. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here. Because puzzles and challenges are the heart of an Escape Room, there’s plenty of potential for frustration, stuckness and bad experiences. …Escape Room5 min readEscape Room5 min read
Oct 5, 2022Escape Rooms as Learning ExperiencesPart 3 — Creating Puzzles for Learning Escape Rooms — This is Part 3 in an article series. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Puzzles are the core of Escape Rooms. If your puzzles aren’t fun and engaging, it doesn’t matter how good your theme and narrative are. …Escape Room8 min readEscape Room8 min read
Sep 28, 2022Escape Rooms as Learning ExperiencesPart 2 — Theme, Narrative and Structure for Learning Escape Rooms — This is Part 2 in an article series. You can find Part 1 here. Escape rooms are immersive experiences and — whether for learning or just for fun — are at their best when they lean into that. …Escape Rooms7 min readEscape Rooms7 min read
Sep 21, 2022Escape Rooms as Learning ExperiencesPart 1 — An Introduction to Learning Escape Rooms — For over a decade, Escape Rooms have grown in popularity every year — longer if we more loosely include puzzle experiences that don’t use the name. Online Escape Rooms filled a niche during the pandemic, as people searched for interesting and different things to do from their homes. Behind the…Escape Rooms6 min readEscape Rooms6 min read
Aug 2, 2022Pressure is the enemy of playLearning from the success of England’s women at Euro 2022 — Being English and a football fan, I was very happy to see England’s Lionesses win the European Championship. A lot of the conversation around this has drawn comparisons with the men’s team, who lost in the final last year. Why did the women succeed where the men failed? There’s no…Game Based Learning5 min readGame Based Learning5 min read
Jul 5, 2022The Art of Game DesignHow a masterclass in videogame design applies to all — Sometimes you read a good book about what you do. Other times you read a book so staggeringly comprehensive, well-sourced and well-written that you marvel you could’ve been successful in your field before you read it. I’m very happy to have corrected my error by reading Jesse Schell’s The Art…Game Based Learning5 min readGame Based Learning5 min read
May 6, 2022How victory conditions frame play:Learning from games that go beyond races and points — There are two ways to win most games. Either reach a certain goal first (get a number of points, reach the last square, checkmate your opponent) or have the most ‘points’ of one kind or another when the end of the game is declared (e.g. …Game Based Learning7 min readGame Based Learning7 min read
