Gaming as a Teaching Tool

Games are a popular tool that helps keep learners engaged and can reinforce important principles.  Part of the final project in AOD 5402: Conflict and Communication was to design a game that taught players principles from the course.  I created Shout-N-Match, The riotous game of conflict theory.



If you are familiar with the card game Apples to Apples, there are many parallels.  In both games players play a card from their hand that they think best matches the dealer's card.  "Matches" is an ambiguous term, and this is really up to the players to decide.  As the instructions note, while there are no wrong answers, some answers are better than others.

Can a game without cut-and-dried rules still effectively teach?

AOD 5402 did not purport to teach the rules of conflict management so much as it provided possible explanations for conflict behavior and suggested possible means of mitigating them.  It falls on the dealer to make connections between the players' Theory cards and their Scenario. The dealer may explain to the players why they did or did not choose their cards, prompting a productive exchange of ideas; euphemistically, a shouting match.

Shout-N-Match Rules and Cards pdf