Your challenge: Design a game where the main purpose is to educate players about some element of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Contribute to the growing body of serious games!
Before building your game, start with a key learning objective. Ask yourself questions like "What do I want the players to learn?" or "What skills do I want them to develop?"
This year's theme is: Today I Learned
Educators are always learning something new. In light of this spirit of inquiry, the theme is Today I Learned. Consider the following interpretations of the theme:
- Maybe I learned something new in my discipline - can this be an included learning objective for a new game?
- Maybe I learned about a new game mechanic and I want to build a game testing out that mechanic.
- Maybe I learned about a new tabletop roleplaying game system; could I use this in something else?
FAQ:
- What level of education should my game be aimed for?
Any age! Preschool to high school to medical school and beyond, there's always something to learn more about, and what better way to learn than through games.
- What about putting the "A" in STEM? Let's have some love for the arts and humanities also!
Great idea. If your game teaches about some element of the arts, it's eligible!
- Does the game need to be digital?
It does not. Board games, card games, dice games, tabletop roleplaying games are all fair game.
- Do physical components need to be made?
They do not. Physical components can be expensive and will likely not be ready by the end of the jam. Using digital tools like Random.org, Tabletop Simulator on steam, or Roll20 are perfectly good!
- Are there prizes?
Sorry, not this time around. Unless, that is, anyone is feeling generous to donate...in which case, prizes will be distributed at random for completed games during the game jam wrap up.
- Who keeps the rights to the games?
You do! Well - you keep the rights to YOUR game. You are encouraged to continue working on your game beyond the time of the jam.
Here are some examples of STEM-focused educational games that may serve as inspiration:
Neurdle, an online Wordle-like using the language of neurology. By Zach London, MD and Ali Christy MD, PhD
Empiric, a card game that teaches antibiotics to medical students, residents and other medical professionals. (Print-and-play)
Pharmageddon: Bugs vs Drugs, a card game to learn antibiotics.
NeuroNavigator, a board game to teach the use of a brain atlas to identify brain structures. (Print-and-play) By Austin Lim, PhD
Neuroanatomy: Gotta Learn it All!, a set of Pokemon themed cards for teaching the cranial nerves. By Mikaela Stiver, PhD