Unpacking Student Perceptions of Board Game Mechanics

"Unpacking Student Perceptions of Board Game Mechanics" examines how undergraduate students at the University of Johannesburg experienced the Boardroom Challenge, a custom board game used as a formative assessment in an accountancy-related business management course. The game ran annually from 2015 to 2019 and was resumed in 2022, and the study draws on that multi-year period to explore how its mechanics shape student engagement and learning. The research centers on the game's core mechanics of dice-driven scenario and theory questions, promotion up a corporate ladder to CEO, and game cash gained or lost according to answer accuracy, alongside secondary mechanics such as timers, lucky break cards, and game master roles that were added or refined in response to feedback.

The analysis rests on a thematic examination of open-ended student feedback, supported by document analysis of rules, revisions, and training materials. Three themes emerged: perceptions of luck and unfairness, which were most pronounced in 2015 and declined after iterative design changes; students' sense of agency in proposing improvements; and reflections on learning that extends beyond the game into future professional relevance. A notable finding is that student views of the mechanics appear closely tied to their beliefs about how those mechanics influence their grades, suggesting that perceived fairness is as consequential as the design itself.

The study concludes that examining core, secondary, and contextual mechanics together offers a clearer account of how game design shapes the student experience. The authors acknowledge that the findings rely on self-reported perceptions, which introduces potential bias. The work is grounded in game design theory and Sicart's definition of game mechanics.