In the ever-evolving landscape of educational technology, distinguishing between game-based learning and gamification is crucial for long-term learning. We see gamification everywhere—sugarcoating learning with XP, badges, leaderboards, superficial “rewards” for traditional learning.
While both aim to engage learners, they achieve this in fundamentally different ways. Game-based learning embeds educational content directly into the gameplay mechanics, ensuring that the learning experience is inseparable from the fun. In contrast, gamification often merely overlays game-like elements on traditional educational content, which can lead to superficial engagement. To illustrate this difference, let’s examine how genuine educational games, like Zombie Division and Kahoot, harness the power of intrinsic motivation to foster deeper learning.
Think of any learning game—say, Kahoot. Ask yourself, if I took away the core mechanic to win the game, would I take away the learning with it? If that answer is yes, the learning is intrinsic to the game itself—it’s game-based learning. If the answer is no, you’re just trying to mask learning with dopamine hits it’s gamification.
Kahoot displays the leaderboard on the projector (teacher view) after each question is displayed (above)
When you’re playing Kahoot with your class, what’s the core mechanic? Answer, questions, rise in the leaderboard, get that satisfaction of seeing your name at the top on the projector after each question. You can’t rise up that leaderboard without answering questions quickly. Those questions, which train your memory recall, are intrinsic to how the game’s dynamics work. This is game based learning.
Imagine you are trying to get a child to eat more vegetables. One option would be to combine vegetables with something they are guaranteed to like: chocolate! In theory, this sounds great; mask the gross broccoli with delicious chocolate. In practice, chocolate-covered broccoli is criminal. The better approach would be to use a recipe that makes vegetables taste good, like broccoli cheddar soup.
This idea applies to game-based learning as well. Wrapping educational content (the vegetables) in a fun game (the chocolate) is not effective. Instead, we want to bake the educational content directly into the game mechanic. This way, play and learning are inextricably linked and learners are benefiting from the entire experience.
Zombie Division, Jacob Habgood
What does this look like in practice? Imagine an educational game where learners fight monsters while practicing division. In one version, each correct answer translates to a punch at a monster—this is “chocolate-covered broccoli.” Instead, we could assign each monster a number, and learners can attack by choosing a smaller divisor. Here, practicing division becomes the core gameplay, transforming the experience into “broccoli-cheddar soup.” By aligning game mechanics with learning content, we allow learners to engage directly with the material during play. Likewise, to win a game a Kahoot, you must engage directly with the questions to access the competitive leaderboard aspect of the game.
A game just like this, Zombie Division, was used to prove that correct game-based learning can be incredibly effective.