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Serious game

Serious game

Games made with a main purpose other than entertainment: teaching, training, informing, persuading or supporting health. They use a game's rules and challenge as the means to that end.

Also known as: applied game

This is a basic entry: it has the definition and the classification. Full entries add history, games and a demo.

History

  1. 1970
    Origin

    This is the term rather than a first game: Clark C. Abt spread it with his book Serious Games (1970).

    Educational video game (Wikipedia)
  2. 2002

    America's Army, by the United States Army, takes the serious game into recruitment and training.

    Serious game (Wikipedia)
  3. 2020

    The FDA approves EndeavorRx, the first video game authorised as a treatment for ADHD in children.

    Serious game (Wikipedia)

Subgenres

  • EducationalGames designed to teach you something specific, such as maths, reading, history or science, while you play. The challenge is tied to the content: to progress you have to apply what you learn.
  • ExerciseYou play by moving your body: jumping, dancing, pedalling or holding poses in front of a sensor, on a mat or with a special peripheral. The aim is exercise, and the challenge is usually measured in rhythm, accuracy or stamina.