The use of educational games or some aspects of games in the educational context is known as game-based learning (GBL) or educational gamification. The objectives of this study are to assess the existing evidence about how GBL and gamification have affected the variables studied in each investigation over the past ten years; to analyse the educational levels, variables, dynamics, and types of games; and to determine the advantages of implementing these games in the classroom. A systematic review is proposed utilising the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology across five multidisciplinary databases by conducting an exhaustive search with inclusion and exclusion criteria, examining quantitative experimental studies exploring the use of gamification and GBL in physical education. The results identify GBL and gamification as significant learning methods due to their impact on student motivation, academic performance, and commitment to improving health and physical performance. Consequently, this study implies that more research is needed on the needs and challenges of students when they are learning through GBL or gamification.

Confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic has hastened an educational shift from face-to-face to online classrooms. This distanced education seeks to achieve learning goals mediated by technology as they would be achieved in the face-to-face classroom, without ignoring the psychological and social impact that COVID-19 has had on students and teachers. Faced with this situation, the use of online educational escape rooms has been proposed as a motivating strategy for students to review curriculum content in a cooperative and fun way. A qualitative investigation was carried out to explore the perceptions of university students in the Social Education degree program after the implementation of an educational escape room. Our main findings are that most students found that it allowed them to interact with their peers beyond traditional education, that it was useful for their learning and that it was a pleasant activity. However, it was also mentioned that it can be a stressful activity as being an online activity, some students may have connectivity problems. It is concluded that online escape rooms can be active and effective learning strategies for university students.

Background: People with severe mental illness (SMI) face discriminatory situations because of prejudice toward them, even among health care personnel. Escape rooms can be a novel educational strategy for learning about and empathizing with SMI, thus reducing stigma among health care students. Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of the Without Memories escape room on nursing students’ stigma against SMI. Methods: A pre- and postintervention study was conducted with a control group and an experimental group. A total of 306 students from 2 Andalusian universities participated in the study. Data were collected through a pre-post study questionnaire, consisting of an adapted version of the Attributional Style Questionnaire and a questionnaire on motivation for cooperative playful learning strategies. The control group carried out an escape room scenario without sensitizing content, whereas the experimental group carried out an escape room scenario on SMI, with both escape rooms being carried out in a 1-hour session of subjects related to mental health. To answer the research questions, a 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures, a linear regression, and a 2-way analysis of variance were performed. Results: After the intervention, a significant reduction (P<.001) was observed in the experimental group in stigmatizing attitudes compared with the control group, in which no statistically significant changes (P>.05) were observed. In contrast, the linear regression (t195=−22.15; P<.001) showed that there was an inverse relationship between flow and the level of reduced stigma. When controlling for having or not having a close relative, the intervention was also shown to be effective (P<.001) in reducing the stigma displayed, both for people with affected and unaffected relatives. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the Without Memories escape room can be used as an effective tool to educate and raise awareness about stigmatizing attitudes toward SMI in university students studying health care. Future testing of the effectiveness of educational escape rooms should be designed with new programs through playful strategies of longer duration to evaluate whether they can achieve a greater impact on motivation, acquisition of knowledge, and awareness. In addition, the feasibility of implementing the Without Memories escape room in other careers related to health and community should be investigated.

This study evaluates the impact of game-based learning (GBL) and Service-Learning on the flow and engagement of teacher education students. A quasi-experimental between-group comparison design with pre-test and post-test measures was conducted with a sample of 113 students majoring in childhood education. The results indicate that the experimental group statistically significantly improved their flow and engagement scores compared to the control group. It is concluded that the GBL and SL methodology in initial teacher training allows students to learn about inclusive education in a motivating way and to design different strategies and resources that they will be able to use in their professional future.

This study presents a quasi‐experimental longitudinal mixed‐methods research about the participation in leisure activities, physical activity, and games, as part of the family leisure programme (“Lunae Magic School”) for Spanish families with children under 12 years old during COVID‐19 lockdown. The impact on parents and their perception of the psychological well‐being of their children is evaluated. The results show that leisure activities reduce the parent's anxiety levels measured with STAI scale (p = .0001) and their perception of the physical and emotional discomfort of their children, measured with PSC scale (p < .0001). It is qualitatively argued that despite the confinement situation, the gamification, the variety of activities and the fact of being able to enjoy quality time with the family have allowed the creation of spaces of fun and flow. Therefore, although the findings on the importance of family leisure were encouraging, more research is needed on the implementation of similar programmes.