In this study, I detail three families who play the popular mobile augmented reality game Pokémon Go together. I discuss the parents’ perceptions of the game’s educational merits and potential drawbacks and detail how learning occurs around the game. Using the framework of Distributed Teaching and Learning Systems, I argue that Pokémon Go and other games and digital media experiences that families engage with at home can be powerful resources, which connect and integrate with other sites and resources, both in-school and out-of-school. In the case of these families, parents engage in explicit teaching around the game and share information that they have learned online. The findings presented here have implications for researchers, educators, and designers.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of current literature on video game making and modding (modification). The chapter describes key game making tools and educational programs that incorporate game making, to promote student outcomes ranging from media literacy to the development of computational thinking and greater interest in computer science. This is followed by a discussion of empirical literature on game making and modding as fan practices, and an overview of new game making tools and communities that are blurring the lines between educational, professional, and fan-driven game making practices. Lastly, the chapter addresses key issues, directions for future research, and recommendations for policy and practice.

In this study, I discuss the need to increase girls' involvement with game design due to the numerous benefits that engaging in this practice might have. In particular, I discuss the tool Twine, an accessible and relatively easy-to-use platform for creating text-based games. I provide an overview of the tool and its potential benefits for learning, including traditional and digital literacy skills. I present the findings from an after-school workshop in which I led a small group of ten-to twelve-year old girls in designing their own games. Finally, the ways in which the girls engaged with the tool and the workshop, and the implications for literacy and education, are discussed.

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Purpose This paper aims to explore how making tabletop board games elicited adolescents’ design thinking during their participation in a summer game design camp at their local library. Design/methodology/approach This study leverages qualitative approaches to coding transcripts of participants’ talk. This study uses the design thinking framework from the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University as provisional codes to identify and make sense of participants’ verbalized design activity. Findings This study found that the making context of designing tabletop board games elicited a high frequency of design talk in participants, evidenced by both quantitative and qualitative reports of the data. Additionally, participants in large measure obviated constraints on their design activity imposed by linear conceptions of the design thinking model this study introduces, instead of moving fluidly across design modes. Finally, participants’ prior experiences in both life and in regard to games significantly influenced their design study. Originality/value This study highlights the unique affordances of making-centric approaches to designing tabletop games in particular, such as participants’ quick and sustained engagement in the study of design. This study also highlights the need for conceptions of design thinking specific to designing games.