The 4th Annual Game Crawl: An Evening of Learning and Play #LSCon

At this month’s Learning Solutions Conference & Expo in Orlando, we’ll be exploring how people can learn through gaming at the fourth annual Game Crawl, an evening of learning, play, and fun.

Due to the popularity of Game Crawl, we’ve extended this year’s event by one hour and have moved it into a larger room. Game Crawl takes place on Wednesday March 16th, from 6:30pm – 9:00pm.  We’ll also be holding Game Crawl in the Crystal Room at the Hilton to accommodate more people. For those who are accustomed to us holding Game Crawl in the hotel bar, no worries – we’ve arranged for the bar to provide a server for drink and food orders.

I love games. Not only are games a lot of fun, but they are also a great way for people to learn. Anytime I look at how a game enhances learning, I ask myself two questions.

Question 1: What Do Players Learn Through Play?

Most people don’t think about games in the context of learning. They think about games in the context of fun, and rightfully so. But people do learn a tremendous amount during playing of the game.

Games can help players learn basic concepts and facts, how to apply complex critical thinking, or anything in between. Last year Lifehacker published an article highlighting 15 games that are great for learning. Some of the games listed, and what they help people learn, included:

• Chess: foresight, strategic thinking
• Ticket to Ride: Strategic thinking, geography
• Dixit: Creative thinking, storytelling
• Scrabble: Spelling, math
• Agricola: Problem-solving skills
• Pandemic: Problem solving, teamwork

Most importantly, these games are fun. They are not teaching-tools poorly disguised as games. They are games that, through play, help people learn and develop new skills.

Question 2: What Can I Learn From the Game’s Design?

I also look at games with an instructional design mindset. What makes the game so engaging? How does the design intentionally help people build skill?

Take Angry Birds, one of the most popular games in the world. Sure it’s fun, but have you ever looked at it’s design? There are plenty of lessons instructional designers can take from that game, including:

• You start with a single bird to use, with no special abilities. As you pass levels, new birds with new abilities are added to the mix. LESSON: Start simple and allow practice to develop mastery before introducing new skills.
• There are very limited instructions. You learn to play Angry Birds by playing it. LESSON: Let people learn by doing, providing them only the minimal instruction to get started.
• There’s no single way to beat a level. LESSON: Allow people the opportunity to solve problems in different ways.

(I wrote a post on my personal blog a while back exploring the lessons we can learn from Angry Birds in more detail – it’s linked at the bottom of this post.)

I’ll be bringing some of my favorite games to Orlando, including Fluxx, No Thanks, Qwirkle, and some new games like Telestrations, Disruptus, Love Letter, and more. If you’re attending this year’s Learning Solutions Conference & Expo, I hope you can join us at this year’s Game Crawl.

And if you have a favorite game and room in your luggage, bring it along! The more the merrier.

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