A Rubric for Making Engaging Educational Games

In the world of educational games, it can be difficult to determine what makes a game truly effective in enhancing children’s learning experiences. At my research company, we have developed a game approach based on years of experience and research. The approach focuses on several key elements that we believe are critical to the success of a learning game. Let's take a look at the elements in detail:

Over the last 10 years, I’ve been hired to review and create educational games for many top educational and toy companies. Consistently, I find there is a large gap between the educators and the gamers and a further gap into what inspires young children with games. I’ve watched hundreds of children play educational games (and sometimes real games too) and most educational games fail. Frankly, they suck. When adults design for children, we have this strange bias: “I wouldn’t play this myself, but they are a 5 year old, so they will deal with it.” That attitude doesn’t work very well these days, when students get to go home and play on their iPads for hours on end - full of multimillion dollar apps designed to be fun and addicting. Over the course of my consulting, I’ve identified 5 Foundational Pieces that will determine the effectiveness and fun of an educational game.

Game Mechanics

The mechanics of a game can make all the difference in how effectively it engages and teaches children. A game should always include a clear goal to win, levels that increase in difficulty, and at least one of the following:

Require a non-academic interactive skill that requires some effort to master, but not so much that children become frustrated
Involve a clear, easy-to-understand timing element that children are able to beat with effort
An opportunity for children to create something within the game that feels like their own input (the most difficult to design)

Sticky Stories

Especially for younger children, the story they help tell in a game is equally as important as the game itself. The story should acknowledge mistakes and connect them to the learning objective. It should be memorable and silly, yet easy to understand, and not so long that it becomes confusing (when a child laughs, they know learning is fun). Stories should be self-contained in the game, only two to three minutes in length total!

Agency: The Child's Actions Affect the Story

The child's actions should affect the story in some way, rather than having no impact or simply changing a score board. Characters in the story should react to the child's choices. The simplest example is characters becoming happy or sad if the child gets an answer right or wrong.

Educational Effectiveness

A learning game should effectively help the child to master a new skill or concept. The game should offer repetition and multiple chances to guess, as well as helpful feedback on wrong answers. The majority of the time spent playing the game should be focused on practicing and mastering skills. Games that aim to teach skills often miss the mark. Teachers are still the best choice for introducing new skills but games need to have a plan to help a child who is facing a challenge they are not fully ready for. This suggestion may sound “adultish”, but kids love the feeling of learning, and will quickly become demotivated if they don’t feel they can adequately practice and learn.

Usability/Flow

The interface should be easy to use and controls should be intuitive. The game should look professional and include high-quality graphics, animations, and texts. The transitions and flow of the game should feel professionally done, and the game should not have a lot of load time or navigation issues.

Conclusion

Incorporating these key elements into a learning game can significantly increase its effectiveness in enhancing children's learning experiences. I helped develop a corresponding rubric for these principles that can help game and educational developers effectively evaluate their games engagement level. My hope is that this rubric can help ensure your games are engaging, memorable, and educationally effective.