Serious games are making a big impact in the world of education. Using board and card games are a great way to engage students on a more interactive level. Just like traditional board and card games, serious games have been designed for a wide audience, ranging from high school through college and medical school. Some designers have even build simulations using VR technology!
Serious games have been created for teaching nearly every academic discipline, ranging from astronomy to microbiology. Here, we present our list of top board and card games that can be used for learning some aspect of neuroscience. Many of them have been adopted by professors and teachers for use in their classrooms. Some even have free versions that are downloadable, which the board game community calls Print and Play, or PnP.
Many of these neuroscience themed serious games are popular, receiving awards for a large number of sales. In no particular order, here are some of BrainStuff.org’s favorite board games.
Focus: Neuroanatomy
Designer: Zach London, MD, and Mikaela Stiver, PhD.
Foramina are the holes in the skull which allow bundles of axons, or nerve fibers, to pass into and out of the brain. Foramina is also a set collection game designed to teach about the cranial nerves.
Foramina doesn’t require any previous knowledge about cranial nerve anatomy, so it is perfect for use in an undergraduate level sensory neuroscience or neuroanatomy lab class.
NeuroNavigator
Focus: Neuroanatomy
Designer: Austin Lim, PhD
NeuroNavigator is a competitive board game that asks “Do you know your neuroanatomy?”
In NeuroNavigator, players compete to move around a series of coronal brain slices trying to get to the brain structure identified on cards. First player to reach that structure gets to claim the corresponding number of points.
NeuroNavigator requires an understanding of brain anatomy before play. A free-to-download rulebook provides answers as well as other educational information. The game can be adopted in the classroom to teach how to use the Allen Brain Atlas to find brain structures.
Focus: Cellular Neuroscience
Designer: Angel Kaur, PhD
In Signal, players look to build a functioning synapse that allows the two neurons to communicate.
Signal has a strong focus on the foundations of cellular and molecular neurobiology, requiring that the students understand the role of such important proteins as voltage gated sodium channels and the sodium-potassium ATP-ase. Using this knowledge, they will compete against other groups to build a working synapse! Signal is ideal for both introductory level neuroscience courses as well as upper level courses.
The use of Signal in the classroom has been described in a publication in the Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education.
Forbidden Neurds
Focus: General neuroscience
Designer: Angel Kaur, PhD
Like Taboo for Neuroscientists, Forbidden Neurds is a group party game designed to test a knowledge of neuroscience words. One player is given a neuroscience-themed word, and the other teammates are tasked with guessing the word. However, the clue giver is forbidden from saying a list of words, so they are going to have to get creative!
Great for use in the classroom, since it challenges students to find new ways to communicate ideas they have previously learned about. Although the rules suggest a time limit, professors could give these cards and ask the students to come up with other words they would use to describe the target word. This “low pressure” mode of game play can also be adopted for a slow paced version of the game.
Are you a designer of a neuroscience themed board game?
We may have missed your game! Please drop a comment below and we will definitely take a look at your game.