This paper is a review of the state of play of research linking videogaming and flourishing, and explores the role of videogames and technology to improve mental health and well-being. Its purpose is to develop understandings about the positive intersection of gaming and well-being, to document evidence regarding links between videogames and positive mental health, and to provide guidelines for use by other researchers as they design and use tools and games to improve mental health and well-being. Using Huppert’s (Huppert & So, 2013) proposition that to flourish is more than the absence of mental disorder but rather a combination of feeling good and functioning effectively resulting in high levels of mental well-being, and Seligman’s (Seligman, 2011) PERMA theory of well-being, the paper identifies strengths in existing games that generate positive affect, positive functioning and positive social functioning, contributing to, and supporting mental health and well-being.

Gamified workplaces could be a positive and innovative solution to addressing contemporary problems in organisations. Such problems include high levels of stress, reduced sense of community, reduced loyalty and rapid changes in the workforce. To better prepare organisations for the future it may be helpful to identify and understand the potential advantages, disadvantages and areas for future research in relationship to the use of gamification for personal and organisational wellbeing. An analysis of research literature across disciplines in combination with expert opinion identified gamified workplaces as a promising strategy for promoting wellbeing. Furthermore, this paper proposes a set of 10 principles as part of a gamification guiding framework (I PLAY AT WORK). In addition to the value of mapping the present for the benefit of the future, there is also considerable value in reshaping core ideas related to the workplaces. Gamified workplaces can provide opportunities for a more vigorous and strategic inter-disciplinary research agenda that can stimulate investments in the area.

This paper presents a case study of the key decisions made in the design of Orbit, a child sexual abuse prevention computer game targeted at school students between 8 and 10 years of age. Key decisions include providing supported delivery for the target age group, featuring adults in the program, not over-sanitising game content, having a focus on building healthy self-concept of players, making the game engaging and relatable for all players and evaluating the program. This case study has implications for the design of Serious Games more generally, including that research should underpin game design decisions, game designers should consider ways of bridging the game to real life, the learning that arises from the game should go beyond rote-learning, designers should consider how the player can make the game-world their own and comprehensive evaluations of Serious Games should be undertaken.