COMPUS

Funding programme

Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership KA201

Project reference

2018-1-ES01-KA201-050415

Period

2018–2020

Coordinating organisation

University of Deusto

Participating countries

Spain; Romania; Poland

Official project website

Visit official website

COMPUS aimed to develop computational thinking among school pupils through original educational board games and complementary unplugged computing activities.

The project sought to make abstract computing concepts accessible through the manipulation of physical components, problem-solving challenges and game mechanics representing operations performed by computers.

Specific learning objectives

• Computational thinking: Strengthen logical reasoning, problem decomposition, algorithmic thinking and the ability to formulate solutions through structured sequences of operations.
• Binary representation: Help students understand how computers represent and manipulate numerical information using binary digits.
• Logical and arithmetic operations: Introduce operations such as AND, OR, XOR, NOT, addition, subtraction and bit manipulation through tangible gameplay.
• Understanding computer operations: Familiarise learners with simplified processor registers, memory, instructions and the execution of computational operations.
• Database fundamentals: Introduce data structures, logical conditions, selection operations and the basic principles underlying database queries.
• Strategic problem-solving: Encourage players to plan sequences of actions, manage limited resources, compare alternative solutions and adapt decisions to changing game conditions.
• Collaborative reasoning: Provide opportunities for cooperation, discussion and shared problem-solving through the cooperative and multiplayer possibilities of the games.
• Unplugged computing education: Demonstrate that computational concepts can be explored and understood through physical materials without requiring computers or programming software.

The project approaches computational thinking as a transferable educational competence, connecting computing principles with logical-mathematical reasoning and active problem-solving.

COMPUS developed two original educational board games specifically designed to introduce computational-thinking concepts through physical gameplay.

Games developed

1. MOON: 1110011: A computational-thinking board game inspired by the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Players control the computer of the Eagle lunar module and must execute operations to help the astronauts complete their mission. The game represents a simplified computer architecture through binary registers, memory, operation cards and computational objectives. Players manipulate binary values using logical and mathematical operations, including AND, OR, XOR, NOT, increment, decrement and bit rotations. Different operations consume different amounts of energy, requiring players to optimise their decisions. MOON supports 1–4 players and offers solo, cooperative and competitive possibilities, with adjustable levels of complexity.
2. Archers of Nand (Arqueras de Nand): A strategic educational board game set in the fictional Nand Valley, where players must organise the defence of a territory threatened by invading orcs. The game introduces the fundamentals of databases by representing the valley as a data table divided into regions. Players apply logical conditions and selection operations to determine which areas can be defended or attacked. Its educational content includes data representation, logical reasoning, database selection procedures and concepts related to sets and Boolean operations.

Game approach: Custom-designed educational board games developed within the project, rather than adaptations of existing commercial games.

Educational integration: Both games incorporate computational concepts directly into their rules, components and decision-making processes. Players must engage with the underlying computational operations to achieve the game’s objectives.

Availability: MOON is available through printable materials, rulebooks and an online adaptation. Archers of Nand provides print-and-play materials and rulebooks in several European languages.

Game resources:

• MOON: 1110011 – Official game page
• Archers of Nand – Official game page

COMPUS adopts an unplugged Board Game-Based Learning approach in which computational concepts are embedded directly into the mechanics and components of purpose-designed educational games.

Rather than presenting computing concepts through conventional explanations or digital programming environments, the project translates abstract operations into physical actions, logical challenges and meaningful game decisions.

Methodological approach

1. Representation of computational concepts: Abstract computing structures, including binary registers, memory, logical operations and database tables, are represented through tangible game components.
2. Learning through gameplay: Players interact with computational concepts by manipulating game elements, applying operations and making decisions required to achieve the game’s objectives.
3. Problem-solving and strategic reasoning: Game challenges require players to examine available information, consider alternative operations and plan sequences of actions under specific constraints.
4. Progressive difficulty: MOON allows its complexity to be adjusted through different energy limits, computational operations, initial register configurations, error cards and additional events. This facilitates progression from introductory to more demanding challenges.
5. Individual and collaborative learning: The games support different forms of player interaction, including individual problem-solving and cooperative gameplay, depending on the game and selected mode.
6. Complementary unplugged activities: The project envisaged educational exercises using the games’ components to reinforce computational concepts beyond complete game sessions.

Role of the facilitator

Teachers introduce the computational concepts represented by the games, explain their rules and support students in interpreting the relationship between game actions and computing processes.

In MOON, educators can adjust difficulty by modifying available operations, energy resources and initial conditions. This provides opportunities to adapt challenges to learners’ previous knowledge and abilities.

The project also envisaged pedagogical guides and complementary classroom activities to support teachers in using the games as educational resources.

Reflection and debriefing

The reviewed sources do not establish a mandatory or standardised post-game debriefing protocol.

However, the educational design allows teachers to discuss how particular game operations correspond to computational processes, why certain solutions are more efficient than others and how strategies developed during gameplay relate to broader problem-solving principles.

Methodological consideration: The available documentation supports the identification of these educational principles, but does not demonstrate that all participating schools followed a single, standardised instructional sequence.

COMPUS developed and tested educational board games within a European school education partnership involving organisations from Spain, Romania and Poland.

Implementation

• European partnership: The project was coordinated by the University of Deusto (Spain), with the participation of Fundación Educativa ACI – Esclavas SC Fátima and AGR Priority (Spain), Școala Gimnazială Ferdinand I (Romania), and Ośrodek Edukacji Informatycznej i Zastosowań Komputerów w Warszawie (Poland).
• Game development: Two original educational board games, MOON: 1110011 and Archers of Nand, were developed to address different aspects of computational thinking.
• Educational testing: During a project meeting held at Școala Gimnazială Ferdinand I in Romania on 27–28 May 2019, partners presented activities undertaken during the project and tested educational game materials.
• Student reception: The Romanian partner reported that MOON had been positively received by students, who expressed interest in progressing to more advanced challenges.
• Testing of Archers of Nand: The second game was tested during the same project meeting, with particular attention to its potential for explaining sets and related logical operations.
• Pedagogical development: The partners also worked on a good-practice guide incorporating activities based on the components of the two games.
• Dissemination: Game information, rules and educational resources were made available online. MOON also received wider public dissemination beyond the original partnership.

Evaluation and evidence

The available documentation confirms the development of the games and reports educational testing and positive student reception during project activities.

However, the reviewed sources do not provide sufficient information to establish a systematic evaluation of learning outcomes. No controlled comparative study, validated pre-test/post-test assessment or detailed statistical analysis of changes in computational-thinking competencies was identified.

The number of students participating in classroom testing, the duration of educational interventions and the instruments used to assess learning were not sufficiently documented in the reviewed materials.

Evidence classification: Documented game development and educational testing; positive reception reported by project partners; learning effectiveness not established through a controlled outcome study in the sources reviewed.

Limitations: The available evidence primarily comes from project partners and descriptive implementation reports. These sources support conclusions about feasibility and educational use, but do not allow causal claims regarding improvements in computational-thinking skills.

COMPUS developed and disseminated educational game materials intended to make computational thinking accessible through physical games and unplugged learning activities.

Available resources

• MOON: 1110011: An original educational board game introducing binary representation, computer registers, memory management, logical and arithmetic operations, and computational problem-solving.
• MOON rulebook and documentation: Detailed instructions explaining game setup, binary counting, cooperative and competitive modes, computational operations, difficulty adjustments and advanced gameplay options.
• MOON print-and-play materials: Downloadable game components and rules that allow users to reproduce and play the physical game.
• MOON online version: A digital adaptation extending access to the game’s computational challenges.
• Archers of Nand: An original educational board game introducing database fundamentals, logical conditions, sets and information-selection processes.
• Archers of Nand print-and-play materials: Downloadable cards and components for producing the physical game.
• Multilingual rulebooks: Archers of Nand provides rules in Spanish, English, Basque, Romanian, Polish, Catalan, French, German, Hungarian and Italian.
• Video tutorials: Audiovisual instructions intended to help users understand the games and their educational content.
• Complementary unplugged activities: The project documentation describes an activity book and pedagogical exercises designed to extend the educational use of game components. The current public availability of the complete activity book could not be independently confirmed.

Transferability

The availability of printable components, game instructions and online documentation facilitates the use of COMPUS games outside the original partnership.

MOON is particularly adaptable because its rules allow educators to modify difficulty, available operations and gameplay conditions according to learners’ abilities and previous knowledge.

Archers of Nand also supports replication through its publicly available printable components and multilingual instructions.

The project adopted an open-distribution approach to its educational games. Users should consult the applicable licences when reproducing, modifying or redistributing materials.

Replicability assessment: Physical game reproduction and adaptation are supported by available materials. However, the reviewed documentation does not establish a fully standardised educational intervention protocol with validated assessment instruments.

COMPUS represents an interesting example of Board Game-Based Learning in which educational concepts are intrinsically integrated into the mechanics of purpose-designed games.

Its main methodological contribution lies in transforming abstract computing processes into tangible systems that players can manipulate, understand and use to solve challenges.

Methodological strengths

1. Intrinsic integration of learning and gameplay. The computational concepts are not merely presented as questions or explanatory content added to an unrelated game. Instead, they form part of the operations that players must perform to achieve their objectives. This creates a direct relationship between understanding the educational content and progressing through gameplay.
2. Tangible representation of abstract processes. MOON translates computer registers, memory and logical operations into physical components and player actions. Archers of Nand uses the game environment to represent database structures and selection procedures. These approaches may help learners visualise concepts that can otherwise be difficult to understand through verbal explanations alone.
3. Adaptability and progressive complexity. MOON provides an especially interesting example of adjustable difficulty. Teachers can modify available energy, introduce additional logical operations, change initial configurations and incorporate error cards or events. This flexibility allows the same game system to support learners with different levels of computational knowledge.
4. Connection between game mechanics and computational reasoning. Players must consider the consequences and efficiency of their operations. The game therefore creates opportunities to explore computational problem-solving through decision-making rather than memorisation of concepts.
5. Accessibility and transferability. Printable components, multilingual instructions and publicly available documentation allow educators to reproduce and adapt the games without requiring specialised digital equipment during physical gameplay.
6. Recreational potential beyond the original project. MOON is particularly noteworthy because it was also promoted as a standalone board game, including through crowdfunding. This suggests that purpose-designed educational games can potentially achieve recreational appeal beyond their initial instructional context.

Methodological limitations

Despite these strengths, the project presents several limitations from a BGBL research perspective.

First, the available documentation does not demonstrate that the games produce measurable improvements in computational-thinking competencies. The close relationship between mechanics and learning content supports their educational rationale, but should not be interpreted as evidence of effectiveness.

Second, the development of custom educational games requires considerable design effort and a careful balance between instructional objectives, mechanical coherence, accessibility and recreational enjoyment. Strong educational alignment does not necessarily guarantee that a game will remain attractive outside formal learning activities.

Third, although the games provide reproducible materials, the reviewed sources do not establish a standardised methodology for classroom implementation, facilitated reflection or learning-outcome assessment.

Ludus Magnus assessment

COMPUS is a valuable methodological example of how computational concepts can be embedded directly into analogue game systems. MOON is particularly relevant because of its mechanical integration, adaptable complexity and potential for use both inside and outside educational settings.

The project also illustrates an important distinction between two approaches to Board Game-Based Learning: designing games specifically around educational objectives and adapting existing recreational board games through complementary pedagogical resources.

The first approach, represented by COMPUS, offers greater control over the relationship between game mechanics and target knowledge. The second can benefit from the established recreational appeal, tested mechanics and wider availability of commercial games, although educational alignment may require additional instructional support.

Neither approach is inherently superior. Their suitability depends on the intended learning outcomes, available resources, target population and quality of educational implementation.

Transferable methodological lesson: Effective educational game design should seek meaningful connections between learning objectives and the decisions required during gameplay, while treating recreational quality, methodological replicability and demonstrated learning effectiveness as distinct dimensions requiring separate assessment.