Teaching Game Based Learning for Engineering Courses
Summary:
Join in creating and experiencing different methods of game based learning! Participants will not only participate but will get examples of game based learning modules used in STEM undergrad courses.
Description:
Game based learning is a powerful tool to help motivate and interest a variety of students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mechanics. Designing interactive games for educating core concepts is difficult, but throughout my career as a faculty in Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering departments, I have been able to create many different modules for helping to motivate and educate students in a variety of different core courses. In this session, I want us to create our own game modules using some of my designs as inspiration as well as have you complete some of my games and learning modules. This is mostly intended for instructors, but if game designers would like to join and help iterate, or advise, I think the conversations would be very instructive.
Learn how to use Monumental Consequence in your classroom.
Description:
In this session you will learn how to play and use Monumental Consequence in your classroom. While the game discusses the value of art it is used in classrooms across the U.S. and Europe in a variety of fields. Come debate whether art is worth the value of life and learn how to use it in your classroom setting.
James Ernest explains the application of randomness in game design, different types of random systems, and their effects on storytelling.
Description:
In this second of two lectures on randomness in game design, James Ernest (Kill Doctor Lucky, Pirates of the Spanish Main) focuses on the “why” of randomness in games, explaining how different types of chaos contribute to different forms of storytelling.
The Architect of Play: Game Design as a Catalyst for K-8 Learning
Summary:
Move beyond play: use the engineering process and game design to teach K-8 systems thinking. This session offers a roadmap for turning students into innovative creative engineers.
Description:
From Players to Architects: Shift student mindsets toward Systems Thinking by deconstructing rules and constraints to view complex challenges as solvable systems.
The Iterative Engineering Cycle: Implement a "Design-Test-Refine" workflow. This loop uses playtesting to normalize failure, encourage risk-taking, and build a growth mindset.
Interdisciplinary Connective Tissue: Synthesize core subjects into a single project:
Mathematics: Probability, variables, and logical balancing.
Literacy: Narrative structure, technical writing, and world-building.
SEL & UX: Fostering empathy through user experience and collaborative testing.
Metacognitive Reflection: Integrate consistent reflection cycles to ensure students remain conscious of their own problem-solving strategies.
'"Balance" is often the goal of playtesting and late stage design. But what exactly is balance and how do you know when you achieve it? And what are the best techniques for balancing your game?
Description:
'"Balance" is widely considered an important and desirable attribute for games. But there are many types of balance, and they interact with the game and the players in a variety of ways. This talk takes a deep dive into balance including: Defining balance, Good and bad types of balance, Who and what are we balancing for?, Building balance levers early, The relationship between costing and balancing, & Methods for measuring and improving balance. Examples will be given of the instructor's own experiences with balancing, what worked, and what didn't.
** GAME DESIGN ACADEMY ONLY EVENT / NOT INTENDED FOR GENERAL TRADE DAY AUDIENCE **
The British Are Coming: Using TTRPGs to Teach History
Summary:
How can educators bridge the game table and the classroom? Join a panel of designers and educators in discussion on the trials and triumphs of gaming as education.
Description:
What are the best practices, challenges, pitfalls, and rewards of using tabletop roleplaying to help students learn history, think critically, and build curiosity? Professional educator Mollie Brewsaugh, and others in discussion about the trials and triumphs of gaming as education.
The Impact of Familiarity on Cooperative Performance
Summary:
This talk will present the results of a study run by Drs. Heidenreich and Joy in Spring of 2026 on the impact of familiarity with one's fellow players on group performance in cooperative board games.
Description:
In 2025 Drs. Heidenreich and Joy did a study on whether mathematically analyzing a cooperative board game (Pandemic) made the players better at it. A flaw in the design of the study suggested a topic for a follow-up study: what's the impact on success of playing a cooperative board game when you play with the same people vs. playing with new people? We think people are more successful with familiar teammates, but how big is the impact? This talk will explain how we ran the study and what our results were, connecting it with our previous results on the benefits of players performing mathematical analysis. The study will be part of a class on The Math of Games run by Dr. Heidenreich.
The Power of Play: Bring an Official Pokémon Club to Your School or Library
Summary:
See how Pokémon Clubs build student engagement, play, and belonging via inclusive activities, leadership, and social‑emotional learning. Learn how to start an official club at your school or library!
Description:
When student passion, play, and belonging drive learning, engagement follows. In this session, educators will see how Pokémon Clubs operate as high‑impact afterschool communities that support social‑emotional learning and student agency. Through concrete examples, educators will see how clubs are structured -- from gameplay and creative activities to peer leadership -- and how inclusive design keeps participation accessible. Participants will learn how to bring an official Pokémon Club (and its exclusive educator supports) to their school or library!
SPEAKER: Leonardo Ortiz Villacorta, Casual Play Lead, The Pokémon Company International
How many unique screen-printed wood tokens does your game have? Explore a new way to iterate on product design, with manufacturing cost and product promise in mind.
Description:
One of the biggest pieces of feedback designers receive during pitch meetings is, "your design is too expensive to make for the price point." In this session, we'll explore a new way to iterate on game design that is product price forward and gives you the tool to understand how much your game costs, as well as match production value with the product value promise.
** GAME DESIGN ACADEMY ONLY EVENT / NOT INTENDED FOR GENERAL TRADE DAY AUDIENCE **
Price matters when it comes to making games viable products, and in this workshop, designers will design a game using selected components within budget. We provide the materials, you design the game!