Board Game Design Experiences in Playful History Education

This study examines the implementation of board game design as a pedagogical tool in higher education history courses, in order to enhance students’ historical comprehension while fostering skills in creativity, critical thinking, and collaborative teamwork. Twenty-five students were involved in an extracurricular project focused on the design of historically-themed board games.Students attended preparatory workshops on game design before developing two board games: L'ultimo viaggio sulla via della setaand Cuius regio, eius religio. The process required students to synthesize complex historical information into coherent and playable systems, thereby encouraging critical engagement with historical themes. This approach moved beyond rote memorization, fostering a deeper and more nuanced understanding of historical processes and dynamics.The results indicated high levels of student engagement, and the iterative nature of the design process, including play-testing, was particularly effective in enhancing both comprehension and retention. However, challenges arose in managing larger-than-anticipated group sizes and differing levels of prior game design knowledge among students. Future iterations may benefit from addressing these limitations and exploring additional formats, such as gamebooks.This study underscores the potential of game design-based learning in history education, demonstrating its capacity to promote active learning while developing both disciplinary expertise and transferable skills.