Megagames as a Methodology to Foster Learning in Higher Education

This study examines whether megagames, large-scale collaborative games blending role-playing and board game elements, can foster learning about global issues in higher education. The authors piloted a roughly four-hour megagame called "Age of Intelligence," centered on AI and ethics, with 30 participants drawn from students, faculty, and other professionals at a Dutch university of applied sciences. Twenty-eight participants completed open questionnaires, and their responses were analyzed qualitatively using a phenomenological approach, with supplementary multiple-choice items measuring perceived knowledge gains.

The qualitative findings describe players' experience along several dimensions: immersion and enjoyment, a learning orientation that exposed players to multiple perspectives and shifting priorities, strong engagement through collaboration, negotiation and social connection, and a sense of complexity that was often overwhelming yet energizing. Players also reported difficulty with rules, workload, and the open-ended structure, though some valued the freedom and absence of explicit winning conditions. In terms of content knowledge, most participants reported learning something about AI and ethics, though none reported learning a great deal, and self-reported ability to describe specific ethical issues varied widely by topic, with privacy, data governance, and the environment most often marked as already known or newly learned.

The authors propose a working definition of learning through educational megagames and argue that their distinctive value lies in the combination of open goals, dense player interaction, and extended duration rather than any single feature. They note limitations including the small, self-selected sample, reliance on perceptions rather than measured learning outcomes, and practical barriers to adoption, since teachers in the study valued megagames mainly for raising awareness and introducing topics. The authors call for follow-up research on how learning unfolds during play and on supporting educators who wish to implement the format.