Values-Based Transformative Games: From the Physical to the Digital

This paper presents a design framework and prototype for values-based transformative games aimed at children aged 0 to 8, using an adapted version of the traditional board game Snakes and Ladders. The authors argue that while educational games typically focus on basic literacies such as mathematics and reading, values education can be embedded in play to foster lasting changes in behaviour. They define values as enduring beliefs that guide choices across situations, and they propose a Values-based Transformative Games Design Model with four stages: educate, practise, transform, and sustain. The work positions play as the primary medium through which young children absorb values, given the close link between early childhood play, emotional development, and moral understanding.

The research follows an Insider Action Game Design Research methodology, combining action research, design science, and systems development. The authors, who volunteered at a values-based school, worked with a team of four teachers and seven children to build a life-sized, hand-drawn Snakes and Ladders board in which ladders represent positive values and snakes represent their absence, with each landing triggering a scenario card. Evaluation was largely qualitative, drawing on observation, post-game debriefs, and teacher feedback, and was framed as an iterative step rather than a complete validation. The physical version was then adapted into a digital prototype, with alternative mechanics proposed, including decision-based branching and guess-the-scenario scoring. Informal feedback from observers requested larger boards, customisable avatars, difficulty levels, and a dynamic question bank.

The study's scope is narrow: a single school context, a small sample, and a prototype whose effectiveness in changing real-world behaviour was not measured. The authors acknowledge these limitations and present the design model and question framework as adaptable to other literacies, to sustainability and cultural values, and to other games, while calling for further validation and refinement of the model.