This study by Lipińska, Chudzik, and Niziński, published in Homo Ludens (2023), examines how computer games can support history education and proposes a content analysis tool for rating games by their fidelity to historical reality. The authors argue that games offer an interactive way to experience the past, addressing a common problem in history teaching: students struggle to grasp causal relationships and order events chronologically. The paper situates this within debates over whether classroom games should prioritize educational content or entertainment value, noting that teachers and students often hold differing expectations on this point.
The sample consists of 40 titles selected purposively from the Steam "Historical" category, including series such as Total War, Assassin's Creed, Civilization V, and World of Tanks. Each game was classified into one of three categories: largely faithful to historical reality, partially faithful with elements of historical realism, or loosely connected to historical events (quasi-historical). The authors identify Rome: Total War and similar grand strategy titles as the strongest examples of educational value, citing their encyclopedias, sourcing, and transparent acknowledgment of simplifications. Partially faithful titles such as Assassin's Creed and Civilization V were found to offer accurate architecture and contextual information but to impose linear or selective narratives. Quasi-historical games like the Wolfenstein series use history mainly as backdrop. The study is qualitative and preliminary, relying on the authors' own interpretive coding rather than statistically validated measures.
