PATTON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Ohio UNIVERSITY

Explore “Serious Games”

Whaaaaat? Seriously?! It’s an oxymoron. Games are frequently associated with

fun and play. How can games be serious?

Your task is to explore and reflect on playing serious games.

Serious games are digital games designed mainly to promote learning rather than
entertainment. Serious games can facilitate education, corporate training, healthcare,
advertisement, business, politics, attitudinal and behavioral change, and social change.
That said, it doesn’t mean serious games are almost always not fun to play given its
design priority in promoting learning. Take a look at the figure on top and you will notice
it takes content, learning theory, and also sound game design expertise to make serious
games effective in engaging learners during gameplay while inducing learning.

Where do you start?

You should start by playing some of the serious games provided below! Don’t be fooled
by the title of a game because the game may embody a hidden curriculum. Try to play
thoughtfully and critically if you can.

Serious Game Titles (23):

You may look into the serious games titles below. You are encouraged to google “serious games”
and look beyond the games listed above.

Corona Quest https://coronaquest.game/

 PATTON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Ohio UNIVERSITY

3rd World Farmer https://3rdworldfarmer.org/

McDonald’s Video Game http://www.mcvideogame.com/
Free Rice http://freerice.com/
Wolf Quest http://www.wolfquest.org/
Playing History http://www.playinghistory.eu/
Re-Mission 2 http://www.re-mission.net/
Babel Tower https://www.crazygames.com/game/babel-tower
America’s Army http://www.americasarmy.com/
Quest for the Code http://asthma.starlight.org/
Code Combat https://codecombat.com
Against All Odds http://www.playagainstallodds.ca/
Darfur is Dying http://www.darfurisdying.com/
3rd World Farmer http://3rdworldfarmer.com/index.html
Destination Love http://serious.gameclassification.com/EN/games/16844-Destination-Love/index.html
Grace’s Diary http://jenniferann.org.p8.hostingprod.com/2010-game-first-place.htm
Blast off! http://www.fns.usda.gov/multimedia/Games/Blastoff/BlastOff_Game.html
Kahoot https://getkahoot.com/
Guess Who? https://www.crazygames.com/game/guess-who-multiplayer?
utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=google-search-
us&ad_group=134103455016&gclid=CjwKCAiAk--dBhABEiwAchIwkZhLlJob--
FRxheiQty2pM554Cmvqw05qvwKQ4Jyls1Fe5eEziGbkBoCOigQAvD_BwE
Argument Wars
https://www.icivics.org/node/210/resource?gclid=CjwKCAiAk--dBhABEiwAchIwkexi_ZLV74KUKUAf-
IMXGni7X7iJZFrvh137DmUV_42GmSaO0on64hoCgYMQAvD_BwE
Rights Arcade https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=com.Amnesty.RightsArcade&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1
Do I have a right? https://www.icivics.org/ell-teachers?gclid=CjwKCAiAk--dBhABEiwAchIwkfewQ-
W4PL1h_fsZi6MmsWFY0JAMaPAuP-phLDtV1cIgugNAZWIRZhoCIRIQAvD_BwE
Win the White House https://www.icivics.org/games/win-white-house