Games are being increasingly used as a creative teaching tool in higher education. Many educators have implemented some degree of gamification (game elements in a non-game setting) to boost students' motivation to learn and improve engagement, such as using a "Jeopardy!" format. In contrast to gamification, serious games are standalone games with pre-determined learning objectives that are explicitly designed for a purpose other than entertainment. Serious games require thoughtful application of game elements to match the educational goals. Many educators are not aware of the best practices to comfortably develop their own games and implement them into their own curricula. Game-based learning is a growing field across many educational levels, including medical education. Research has shown that well-designed games in a low-stakes environment can allow students to learn the content. This form of learning, therefore, can be designed to target skills, knowledge, or attitudes.

By the end of the focus session, participants will be able to:
1) Discuss appropriate places to integrate game-based learning into a curriculum to provide students with opportunities to learn content in an active learning environment.
2) Differentiate between serious games and gamification.
3) Describe how game elements function to serve educational goals through modifying behaviors and attitudes.
4) List common game mechanics that can be integrated into the design of serious games.
5) Apply different game elements and mechanics to design a game that meets a specific curricular need.