Educational Games
Design learning through play — constraint, competition, and critique as pedagogical tools.
Game-based learning has been a consistent element in my scholarly and teaching journey since 2002, starting with an educational game I created for medical students preparing for USMLE Step 1. The game randomized questions by subject—anatomy, physiology, histology—to mirror the exam’s format, while using collaborative mechanics that emulate physicians' teamwork in practice. The challenge was clear: how to help students learn in conditions that simulate real exams while fostering practical habits? This question continues to inspire the games I create. Both The Symbol Game and The Design Hand are rooted in the belief that well-crafted constraints, competitive elements, and peer critique can teach in ways traditional instruction cannot.
The Symbol Game
A Visual Language Design Exercise
The Symbol Game: Complete game rules, materials, pedagogical rationale, and observed outcomes (PDF)
Introduced in Autumn 2016 · Presented at the Ireland Game Play Conference, 2018 · Tested with over 500 students across six institutions
The Symbol Game tackles a common challenge in introductory graphic design courses: students often illustrate literal representations instead of abstract concepts. When given a word, most beginners tend to draw what they see rather than an abstract symbol. The game employs time limits, increasing difficulty levels, peer feedback, and a competitive format to challenge this habit and foster true symbolic thinking from the very first week of studio practice.
The game includes three decks of cards, each increasing in conceptual difficulty. The blue deck features concrete nouns—such as chair, bread, river, lake—that appear simple but reveal deeper complexity upon closer examination. The red deck presents compound concepts that require combining or altering previous symbols to create new meanings. The green deck presents the greatest challenge, focusing on emotions, psychological states, and abstract conditions lacking physical referents. Examples include representing homesickness, surprise, or the act of listening. Level 3 rounds consistently spark the most insightful critique discussions compared to other exercises in the course.
The core constraints are consistent at all levels: only shape and line, no color, no letters or numbers, one minute per round, and every symbol must be replicable by hand. Complexity is seen as a failure, not an achievement. These rules compel students to focus on the essential mark, with the constraints serving as the primary pedagogical tool—more effective than any lecture.
Over more than ten years, this exercise has been used across six institutions — Buena Vista University, Peru State College, Northwest Missouri State University, Bradley University, University of Nebraska Omaha, and Pacific University — consistently producing positive outcomes. Students who complete the activity improve their abstraction skills, which benefit them in future symbol and icon projects. The exercise's time limit prevents excessive illustration, focusing students on essential elements. As they progress through levels, students develop a deeper understanding of how visual language creates meaning. Many describe the game as pivotal in helping them learn to simplify and abstract ideas, skills that align directly with core competencies in graphic design.
The Symbol Game was presented at the Ireland Game Play Conference in 2018 as a model for integrating game mechanics into design pedagogy.
The Design Hand
A Design Constraints Card Game
In development · Target completion: 2026
The Design Hand: Game Development Progress (PDF)
Every designer has a comfort zone, consisting of a preferred typeface, familiar colors, and a trusted aesthetic style. These defaults aren’t a sign of limited creativity—they’re part of developing a unique visual voice. However, in design education, such habits can become restrictive. The Design Hand was created to help break through these limitations.
The game is straightforward: players draw one card each from the Color Palette, Typography, and Style decks. They must create a design using only those cards, with no substitutions or fallback options. The randomness is intentionally central to the game.
Research shows that constraints enhance creativity. When students are relieved from endless options, they tend to create their most innovative work. The Design Hand embodies this concept, transforming it into a hands-on, repeatable classroom activity. This tool offers something lectures and critiques can't: it eliminates the option to play it safe.