Gut Check: The evolution of an educational board game

PLoS Biol. 2017 Apr 28;15(4):e2001984. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001984. eCollection 2017 Apr.

Abstract

The "gamification" of science has gained a lot of traction in recent years, and games that convey scientific concepts or themes are increasingly popular. While a number of existing games touch on microbiology, very few consider the beneficial (as opposed to the detrimental) aspects of microbes. We designed a board game called "Gut Check: The Microbiome Game" to fill this gap. The game is meant to be both educational as well as challenging and fun. Here we discuss the development of the game, some of the logistics of game development in this context, and offer suggestions for others thinking of similar projects.

MeSH terms

  • Educational Technology* / trends
  • Game Theory*
  • Games, Recreational*
  • Gastroenterology / education*
  • Gastroenterology / trends
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
  • Humans
  • Microbiology / education*
  • Microbiology / trends
  • Microbiota
  • Teaching
  • Workforce

Grants and funding

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation https://sloan.org/ (grant number G 2015-14022). Received by DAC and JAE. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.