Games where the emphasis is on movement and social interaction between students are called active learning and live games. They include adaptations of well-known party games, escape rooms, murder mystery problem-solving scenarios or complete live action role play for an education setting (educational live action role playing; Edularp). In general, they require students to take active decisions and to debate topics. These games have a different nature because the learning outcome centres on social skills in the context of a topic, rather than the topic itself. Recently, there has been a shift away from digital games towards these once niche real-life games and they are now becoming more mainstream and popular (College of Charleston, 2021).

We know that social constructivists emphasise the need for students to be actively involved in the learning process and to learn from the experience and knowledge of others. The social constructivist approach has mostly been evaluated and used in the context of enquiry-based learning but the use of interactive live games that focus on student discussion and decision making also lend themselves to constructivism. Erbil (2020) summarises the benefits of this pedagogy within the context of co-operative learning. Here, the educator becomes a ‘guide on the side’ rather than a ‘sage on the stage’. However, there is much debate about the impact of using a social constructivist approach on learning outcomes. For example, Mayer (2004) suggested that not all teaching techniques based on constructivism are efficient or effective for all learners, pointing out that many educators misapply constructivism when they simply want active learning.

Active learning games demand good preparation and design if they are to be successful. Although students may appear to be in control of the game play, this play must be underpinned by much predefined scaffolding. Paying heed to the ARCS model, we have to ensure that our environment suits the nature of the game, for example do we have a large enough space? We need to have challenges and quests that suit the age and abilities of our students, which are achievable and relevant to learning outcomes. We need to consider how we give feedback and make assessments throughout the learning process.