A Systematic Review of Serious Games for Collaborative Learning: Theoretical Framework, Game Mechanic and Efficiency Assessment

In recent years, there has been extensive research on serious games for educational purpose. However, the design space for collaboration in games remains substantially unexplored. In this study, we systematically reviewed 31 empirical research articles regarding game-based collaborative learning published from 2006 to 2020 and attempted to provide new information about designing serious games for collaborative learning. We surveyed a number of games and investigated their design features that encourage collaborative learning. Twenty game mechanics were identified and grouped into six main domains: (1) Space, (2) Objects, attributes and states, (3) Actions, (4) Rules and goals, (5) Skill, (6) chance. The analysis of user studies they performed indicated that most of the game projects relied on self-report methods to test their learning effectiveness, and only a few studies adopted the data mining method based on game logs. The implications for research into facilitating collaborative learning and recommendations for future research directions are discussed.