When we started working on The Great Gambit, one of the first questions I kept asking myself wasn't just what kind of game to make, but how to balance three forces pulling in different directions: education, gameplay, and the everyday reality of the classroom. I’ll break it down into three components: Educational Core – What are we really trying to teach, and how do we spark curiosity rather than just transfer knowledge? Game Elements – How do we create systems that invite ex

In the previous article, I broke down the three core components that shaped our challenge: the educational core, the game elements, and the classroom constraints. That challenge led us to a design structure that could hold all three forces: the idea of a Laboratory . Not a metaphorical lab, but a very specific format, something that could: engage students through direct experience (the game), invite reflection and discussion (education), and still fit within the rigid boundar

In the previous article, we introduced the laboratory format with its two phases: the game and the reflection. This article, along with the next one, focuses on the first phase: the game. We’ll take a closer look at its three core components — gameplay , context ,   and  goal . But instead of just describing how they work, I want to walk you through the reasoning behind them. What shaped these choices? What problems were we trying to solve? My goal is to show you the logic st

In any game, there has to be a goal. What makes ours interesting is that the goal isn't to win a war — it's to prevent one. Not by modeling global diplomacy, but by turning the lens inward toward the social dynamics inside a single society.  In this article, I explain why the balance of influence became the goal of our game. We break it down into three parts: what this concept means, how we arrived at it, and what conditions help sustain it. What Balance of Influence Means Ba

Making a good educational game isn't just about coming up with a fun mechanic. It's a question of balance. The balance between excitement and meaning. Between getting players genuinely engaged and actually helping them learn something real. In the article, I want to dig into how I tried to maintain a fragile balance at the level of game design itself. How the Game Feels From a Student’s Perspective You're sitting at a table with your team. You’re playing as one of the major s

Progress Without Maturity: The Trap of the 21st Century We live in an era of rapid technological progress. We have artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons, hypersonic missiles. But in the most important area, the ability to coexist, understand each other, we are still defenseless. We are armed with intelligence, but emotionally, we’re still a tribe with a club. Not Another Manual We’re exploring an approach that emphasizes reflection, dialogue, and social growth alongside in