Rachele Toniolo

Space exploration and astronomical objects are extensively used in modern board games. These games can be an entertaining way to present educational contents on Astrophysics-related topics, by acknowledging the importance and beauty of Space. However, careful consideration of mechanics, messages, and themes is required to achieve this goal. We present a classification system for the presence of Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Space Science in the 2000 most popular modern board games, where games are categorised according to their complexity and actual scientific contents. This initial mapping defines a potential Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science ludography, i.e. a set of board games for STEM educators to create learning activities about such topics, using easily attainable commercial products.

PIXEL - Picture (of) the Universe is a board game developed by INAF - Italian National Institute for Astrophysics in collaboration with GAME Science Research Center. The game simulates the astrophysics research environment, particularly emphasising the observation and study of cosmic bodies at different resolutions. ​​Image resolution is a crucial element in astrophysics, but the intrinsic complexity and challenges of making high-resolution images of the distant Universe are not easily and generally perceivable. We envisioned PIXEL driven by this challenge. Games intended to engage students with science either concentrate on the contents to foster the learning process or focus on life skills solicited by scientific practices. Game mechanics are then either a leverage of scientific knowledge or a science-like behavioural model, depending on the expected outcome of the game-based learning process. In addition to that, game-based learning in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) generally is designed by science practitioners and science communication and education experts. The design process of PIXEL has been a novel joint effort between scientists, science communicators, professional game designers, and game-market and award advisors. We produced a game in which the mechanics are the core of scientific learning, implicitly telling about science while making the player experience it. The innovation of this process is to obtain a game that encountered positive feedback both from the community of game experts and the educational context. The final output is a professional board game suitable for STEM education that promotes scientific citizenship in the audience. In this work, we discuss the game design process and describe how we included our scientific educational messages of image resolution and research dynamics as processes within the game mechanics without making them explicit during the gameplay. We also present a preliminary engagement evaluation of PIXEL and its efficacy in delivering implicit scientific messages through its mechanics.