Game-Enhanced Ludography | Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre

These games are all sorted into categories based on disciplines or learning skills. Within each category, the games are ranked by difficulty, from easiest to most difficult. The difficulty rating is for the person who has an average familiarity with games, so those students who are studying courses related to the games will tend to have a better understanding of the gameplay and game content. The difficulty ranking of these games is based on factors such as the rules (how many, how complex), the skills required for competent gameplay, the amount of thought (decision-making) that is involved in a player turn, the amount of luck, the length of the game, and the complexity of the gameplay.

A line has been drawn between the games to show which games are considered as beginner, intermediate or advanced. Some of these games have easy rules, but are still ranked as difficult. For instance, chess is an easy to learn game but is extremely hard to master, because the skills and strategies involved are numerous and complex. The game rankings have also taken into account the following two factors:

Analysis Paralysis:

This is a state during a game in which a person is frozen in thought when confronted with either too many choices during a game, or the decision to be made during a game turn is too complex in terms of its possibilities or its consequences. This is a common phenomenon for some people during gameplay, as they become unable to process the information presented during a game situation to the extent that no move is made.

Emergent Behaviour:

This refers to a form of game-related decision-making that emerges with a greater familiarity with the rules, and reflects optimal gameplay and strategies that are not explicitly stated in the rules of the game. Emergent behavior is the critical thinking and strategy that players will display as they optimize their play of a game (or as they adjust to the constraints imposed by the rules) in order to figure out how to win the game.

Biology (+ Chemistry) Living Learning Communities

These are games that exercise knowledge of biological or chemical concepts and constructs such as molecular structures or evolution.

Economics & Commerce Living Learning Communities and FSGs

These are games that focus on maintaining a balance of resources, power, position, or some other construct. Math tends to be a key feature however the focus is on economic concepts such as supply and demand or diversifying resources.

Cooperative/ Teamwork Building

These games involve working as a team, either against others or for a common cause. As such they promote communication.

First Martians

Mathematics/Logical Reasoning Living Learning Communities and FSGs

These are games that focus on probabilities and/or thinking multiple steps ahead, either way it promotes thinking of the possibilities. Numbers are typically a part of most of these games but not all. There are currently no advanced games for this section.

Gateway Games for Orientation

These are games that are easy to run, quick to learn, and have a relatively short run time.

English

These games are based around language development through word association and the creation of stories. All of the games currently in this category are for beginners.

History

These games take place in a different historical time. This would include using technology for the given time-period and putting yourself in the mindset of someone from that time-period. There are currently no advanced games for this section.

Political Science

These are games that involve negotiation and working together while it is convenient. This is about accessing what others can offer and making deals based on that while not giving up what is valuable to oneself. There are currently no advanced games for this section.

Other

These are games that do not necessarily fit into one of the categories above, although some of these games do touch on the subjects above. There are currently no advanced games in this section.