Digital or analog games and activities designed to promote civic engagement and awareness through play. Many of the digital games are one-off projects, and aren’t maintained over long periods of time (for example, when browsers remove support for Adobe Flash). Gamification seeks to bring elements and mechanics of gameplay to more arduous tasks, like registering to vote.

Suggested reading:

• Progress in Play: Board Games and the Meaning of History – A history of board games and the powerful ideologies embedded within them, by Alex Andriesse, Public Domain Review (2019)
• How Minecraft Is Teaching Kids to Face the Threat of Climate Change – A case study of efforts to teach young children in Australia about climate action through the incredibly popular game.
• The gamification of journalism. Anna Thulin looks at how games and gamification can be used in journalism to build audience engagement and loyalty.