Game-based Learning for Ethics: Benefits, Challenges, and Dilemmas

Ethics is recognized as a foundational element of human decision-making and a critical competency across educational disciplines, especially in STEM, where solving authentic, complex problems is essential. Traditional methods of ethics instruction often fail to provide the engagement needed for learners to grasp abstract ethical challenges. In contrast, game-based learning offers an experiential approach capable of supporting ethical literacy. Yet, despite their potential, games may also hinder learning or even promote unethical behavior, highlighting a critical but often overlooked challenge: balancing engaging gameplay with the meaningful integration of ethics-related objectives. Given the growing popularity and accessibility of analogue games in ethics education, this study explores their potential through four business ethics board games, each featuring distinct ethical goals, mechanics, and themes. A four-day workshop was conducted with 32 adult participants from diverse cultural, professional, and age backgrounds, with structured interviews following each gameplay session. By thematically analyzing participants’ experiences and perceptions, the study aims to deepen understanding of the complex interplay between games and ethics learning. Adopting a dialectical perspective, the research critically explores both the benefits and challenges of game-based approaches across different stages of the learning process. As a result, the pedagogical dilemmas related to rules, social modes, identity framing, systems nudging, personalized design, and ethics positioning were identified and discussed, spanning personal, behavioral, and environmental dimensions. Building on these insights, recommendations are proposed for designing and implementing games in ethics education, addressing aspects such as facilitation, instructions, goal settings, and social dynamics, thereby supporting meaningful, ethically informed learning experiences.