Modern board games and computational thinking: results of a systematic analysis process

ABSTRACT

In recent years, modern board games (MBG) have attracted the attention of academics due to their innovative mechanics and mechanisms, which seem to facilitate the creation of spaces for the development of various aspects of computational thinking (CT). This article examines a number of MBG to identify those that contain CT-promoting mechanics. We focus on MBG whose mechanics can implicitly support the development of CT, considering these games as valuable pedagogical tools for use in the classroom. Specifically, they can be used by groups of students to introduce, discuss and practice CT concepts. The research identifies several games considered ideal for achieving the aims of the PhD study. This article essentially explores the mechanics of carefully selected MBG, reflecting on how they integrate, support or relate to the development of CT, and discusses their implementation in educational contexts. The results suggest a practical approach to the selection of CT-promoting MBG, offering valuable insight for teachers and education professionals interested in using board games in education. The results point to the potential of these games as effective resources for developing CT in primary school students, contributing to both academic research and practical applications in education.

KEYWORDS:

• Computational thinking
• game mechanics
• modern board games

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank everyone involved in this work for their comments, reflections and contributions. Special thanks to all the publishers for making modern board games available to us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Funds through FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the scope of UIDEF - Unidade de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Educação e Formação, UIDB/04107/2020.