One card game to teach multiple contents
The process of repurposing Spyfall involved deciding the content to be taught with stakeholders and crafting unique cards in accordance.
Spyfall is a social deduction game. Each players except one receive a card depicting the same location. One player receives the spy card. By asking each other questions players have to find out who the spy is. The spy has to discover the location on the card.
Audience
Nine Junior High School and three University first year classes in Japan
Overview
Tools Used
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Magic set Creator
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Spyfall (game)
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Power Point
Problem
A secondary school had an interest in promoting more engaging learning activities, and game-based learning was being considered as a possible approach for English classes. However, a review of the games in use and under consideration showed a recurring issue: most were tightly bound to the content of a single textbook chapter and relied on relatively complex rule systems. This meant that students had to invest time learning a game that could only be used briefly, while teachers faced high setup costs for limited instructional return. As a result, game-based learning remained attractive in principle but difficult to sustain within regular classroom practice.
Solution
To solve the problem I adapted the game Spyfall for classroom use by:
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Simplifying the rules for the first sessions to reduce initial cognitive load
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Using an interactive PowerPoint to externalize procedures and guide play step by step
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Providing a short, question-based rule sheet that students could consult during the game
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Keeping the core rule system stable while changing only the content deck
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The project started in English language classes, but the same structure was later used to create decks for other subjects, allowing the game to be reused without introducing new rules.
The process
With classroom constraints in mind, I used the ADDIE model as a lightweight framework to guide analysis, iteration, and reuse across implementations.
System Simplification
Games are often not easy to learn, and complex rules can lead to frustration and, especially in formal educational setting, rejection . By analyzing the game mechanics I simplified the game rules for and created an interactive power point and short quizzes to facilitate the process of understanding the general game flow and some of its mechanics.
Entire game rules simplified in six low-text slides
Examples of game mechanics
Platform Affordance
Once the content is established with the practitioner, I created the content card using a Magic the Gathering card creator software called Magic Set Editors. Free and easy to use for older teachers thanks to an old fashion interface. The goal was to create a system teachers could easily personalize to their content needs.
Card sets mockups
Card set for foreign languages - 1
Context: Japanese Junior High School students
This set has rooms familiar to all students in Japanese schools. The familiarity with it greatly increases question students can ask about them.
Card set for foreign languages - 2
Context: From Japanese Junior High School students to university first year
As a follow-up to the set above, this outdoor set aims at expanding the amount and kind of questions language learners can ask each other.
Card set for geography
Context: Junior High School students
Learners can inquire about lakes, production or any other information they learned about the countries in the cards.
Card set for Japanese History
Context: Japanese Elementary School students
Here it gets nerdy, but fun! Question can involve relationships, attitude, war stance or philosophy of the characters depicted.
Play-testing
Before implementing it with young students the repurposed version of Spyfall was tested by an ensemble of teachers and older students. I used the feedback from the teachers to streamline the flow of the class and incorporate a Task-based approach with pre-task (Power Point introduction), Task (playing the game), post-task (reflection and goals for future iterations). Cycling back to play at any iteration or multiple times in one session.
Feedback and takeaways
The game was very effective and I was surprised to see the level of students production
Junior high school English teacher
I was worried of using a new methodology but then I noticed how too much scaffolding becomes a limit to the students
Junior high school history teacher
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Constraints. Working within tight class periods and fixed curricula clarified how quickly engagement drops when onboarding costs are too high, even for otherwise appealing games.
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Simplicity. Reducing rule complexity proved more impactful than adding features, reinforcing the value of designing for fast entry rather than full system mastery. Extra rules can be added later in the iterations.
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Iterations. Seeing the game reused across contexts confirmed the importance of treating classroom implementations as evolving systems rather than one-off activities.
Contact
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