Gamebox 3.0

Partners

UEMC Educational Innovation Project performed by:

Azael J. Herrero

Elvira Jensen Casado

Sonia Garrote Fernández

Miriam Herrero Martín

Beatriz Acero González

The GAMEBOX 3.0 project aimed to integrate the use of board games to develop generic competences among students from different university degree programmes. Its specific objectives included creating teaching materials on the fundamentals of board games, enabling students to experiment with different games in order to understand their mechanics and dynamics, and carrying out a game design workshop. The project also sought to promote creativity and entrepreneurship by having students design board games in groups, culminating in a tournament during UEMC Day. However, the last two objectives could not be completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The methodology was structured in several phases. First, a handbook on board games was designed for students, followed by weekly game sessions in which they tried out different games to work on competences such as negotiation, decision-making, and interpersonal skills. A workshop on storytelling and role-playing games was delivered by an expert, Pepe Pedraz, to foster creativity in game design. Although it was not possible to complete the game design phase or hold the tournament, the project successfully achieved the objectives related to theoretical and practical training.

Results

Thanks to this project, visual and accessible teaching materials were created that enabled students to develop generic competences through board games. The students who took part in the sessions became familiar with a range of game mechanics, dynamics, and rules, which helped them strengthen skills such as negotiation, decision-making, and teamwork.

In addition, several students and lecturers attended a workshop on storytelling and role-playing games delivered by Pepe Pedraz, which opened up new possibilities for applying these concepts in future teaching innovation initiatives. Although the pandemic prevented the final phases of the project from being carried out, such as the full design of games by the students and the game tournament on UEMC Day, the outcomes achieved were considered highly satisfactory.