The Novelty of Collaboration: High School Students Learning and Enjoyment Perceptions When Playing Cooperative Modern Board Games

Micael Sousa, Carla Sousa, Filipe Luz

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Modern board games are changing the way people play analogue face-to-face multiplayer games. One of the novelties of this trend is the growing prevalence of games that offer collaborative gameplay. These cooperative games have been instrumental in shifting the demographic of players, attracting individuals who prefer engaging in constructive interactions rather than destructive confrontations. Likewise, playing cooperative games demand specific players' skills which can be associated with the concept of soft skills. Training these skills through modern cooperative board games, whether by modifying existing games or developing new ones as serious games or using gamification approaches, holds promising potential. To test the perception of students playing cooperative modern board games for the first time, we organized a one-day play session in a school environment, specifically in a classroom with the support of the students' teachers. Over a period of six hours (three in the morning and three in the afternoon), a total of 25 high school students from the vocational multimedia area, comprising students of all genders, participated in the session. The students engaged in gameplay with a curated selection of four cooperative modern board games. The results indicate that the students enjoyed the game sessions and recognized the significance of collaboration, as well as the associated skills including communication, empathy, organization, focus, and complementary interactions. The experiment reinforces the suggestion that the used modern board games could be introduced during classes as engaging activities fit for learning and training.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 17th European Conference on Games Based Learning, ECGBL 2023
EditorsTon Spil, Guido Bruinsma, Luuk Collou
PublisherDechema e.V.
Pages632-642
Number of pages11
ISBN (Electronic)9781914587887
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Event17th European Conference on Games Based Learning, ECGBL 2023 - Enschede, Netherlands
Duration: 5 Oct 20236 Oct 2023

Publication series

NameProceedings of the European Conference on Games-based Learning
Volume2023-October
ISSN (Print)2049-0992

Conference

Conference17th European Conference on Games Based Learning, ECGBL 2023
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityEnschede
Period5/10/236/10/23

Keywords

  • Board games
  • Collaboration
  • Cooperation
  • Education
  • Game-Based Learning

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Novelty of Collaboration: High School Students Learning and Enjoyment Perceptions When Playing Cooperative Modern Board Games'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this