As I share about the value games bring to the classroom, library, and even weekly game night, folks ask me, “but how do we know games are benefitting our kids?”
Great news – we’ve got TONS of research and data that helps reinforce the magic of games in both formal and informal learning environments. Below I’ll share five data and research-driven rationales for why games are fantastic for your library, classroom, or home.
1. Games promote literacy
One concern around playing board and card games in instructional spaces is that it takes away time from texts. However, games themselves ARE texts, complete with rulebooks, flavor text, card mechanic information, reference sheets, and much more to process as literary constructs.
In one study from Scientific Reports, students improved in their reading comprehension and accuracy after playing games (Peters et al., 2021). In another study, researchers found that students often pushed themselves to read beyond their lexile level to learn more about their favorite games and fandoms, encouraging literacy improvement and showcasing what testing data often does not reveal about their reading habits (Steinkuhler, 2011).
Our first release, Gamestormers, taps into students’ passions around gaming to encourage them to design their own 5-card game concept. In addition, our cards are full of inference words that students can decipher using the imagery of the cards and their categories to help fine-tune those literacy skills.
2. Games explore serious topics in engaging ways
Often, games are a way to distill complex systems found in everyday life into more streamlined metaphors with accessible gameplay. In our game, Doomscroll, we aimed to capture how social media companies create addictive and manipulative feeds in order to sell users products. Through gameplay, students hopefully begin to reflect on their own social media use and spot the signs that they are being manipulated by the social media feed’s algorithm.
Similarly, research has shown that games are able to teach key subjects and topics through play. A literature review on board and card games in education revealed that games can teach mathematical concepts and other subjects effectively. Games create a simulated experience that is both stimulating for the players and creates an apt representation of key content as well.
3. Games build key skills
Not only can subjects be explored in an engaging manner, but games can also help students develop important life skills during play. In Gamestormers, students practice their public speaking and persuasive techniques by trying to “sell” their five-card narrative idea to the other players. Research shows that board and card games are effective in improving public speaking outcomes overall.
Beyond speaking skills, research has demonstrated that games also develop soft skills such as collaboration, creativity, and teamwork via cooperative and competitive play. As with persuasion, Gamestormers pushes students to think creatively to combine their five cards into a cohesive narrative and weave them together as best they can.
4. Teens love games
So far, we’ve delved into the educational benefits of games, but we’ve ignored one of the most crucial aspects of their appeal … students love them! In particular, teens are incredibly drawn to games, especially in recent years. According to a 2024 PEW Research survey, 85 percent of teens play games in some way, shape or form. While it may come as little surprise that around 97 percent of male-identifying teens game regularly, an impressive 73 percent of female-identifying teens also do so.
With Doomscroll, our social media game, teens are the target demographic to explore social media through gameplay. With games as a passion area for them already, Doomscroll makes the engagement with a normally difficult topic a bit more accessible than, say, a lecture.
In addition, Gamestormers is all about students creating a five card game idea or narrative, which taps into this passion area for many teens. Giving them a creative outlet that draws from an interest they already have promises to deliver a high level of engagement for students.
5. Games bring us together
The last key aspects of games in libraries and classrooms doesn’t really need any research to convince you its true – games help individuals connect with each other. When we design board and card games, we do it because of those entertaining, strategic, and comical moments they create between people. And, thankfully, there IS research that backs up this goal. A 2021 systematic review found that board and card games improve interpersonal connections between participants.
In both Gamestormers and Doomscroll, player interaction is a key aspect of the experience. Players try to relate to each other and appeal to each others’ interest as they tell their narratives in Gamestormers. During Doomscroll, players vie for cards that are in the shared marketplace and can sabotage each others’ feeds, leading to some memorable moments during gameplay. Regardless, each game involves students creating memories with each other face-to-face and away from screens!
There you have it – five research and data driven reasons for games in the library and classroom – you can also check out the list in a slick infographic below or linked here. What did we miss – share it in the comments!
