Exploratory Study of Established Strategy Games in the Context of Knowledge Transfer Based on Selected Learning Objects from the Economic Field

Computer and video games are the subject of intensive and wide-ranging research within the scientific community. The spectrum ranges from the analyses of the effects of games on the propensity to violence, well-being or on the the learning process. Previous works largely concluded positive effects of games on the learning behaviour, particularly at the motivational level. However, the analysis has mainly focused on specially designed educational games, not on games from the entertainment sector that are established on the market. Here, we address this gap by identifying suitable games and examining them for intersections with a catalogue of economical learning objectives. For this purpose, this catalogue is transformed into an adapted criteria catalogue and examined on the basis of five selected games. The main findings include that on average there is a 56% thematic overlap between the learning objectives catalogue, while 18% of the objectives were explained in a way that an abstracted application is possible even outside the gaming environment. Those findings highlight the potential value of these games for an application within the educational sector while suggesting the necessity for adjustments and additions to better address the objectives.