ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a simple — and highly practical — approach to the design of manual games for use in the classroom. It offers an alternative to the traditional algorithmic approach to such design, showing how it is possible to produce extremely effective educational games simply by looking at the range of board games, card games and other manual games that are in common use and seeing if any of these might be converted into a classroom game of some sort. The chapter examines some of the main paradigms on which board, card and other manual ‘fun’ games are based and suggests how each of these might be used for educational purposes; it also presents detailed illustrative case studies, largely drawn from the authors' own experience of game design. The chapter ends by presenting some general guidelines on how to make effective use of the approach.
