Digital games have dominated the research space, the potential of physical, tabletop, and student-designed board games remains underexplored

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the inline gaps and limitations and recommendations of the source papers, classified as general, spanning 3 journals.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• A systematic literature review of STEM learning using games in elementary education (2026) · Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education · doi

  Finally, while digital games have dominated the research space, the potential of physical, tabletop, and student-designed board games remains underexplored. Although the existing literature highlights their potential, particularly for student engagement, collaborative learning, and community outreach, board games remain under-researched compared to digital and simulation-based games.

  generalinline gaps
  Keywords: games digital potential student board finally dominated space physical tabletop designed remains underexplored existing literature
• Teachers as Informants in Participatory Design for Digital Game-Based Learning (2026) · Technology Knowledge and Learning · doi

  Future research could explore how teachers’ expertise influences game design across different subjects and grade levels. Future studies may examine how both content and pedagogy are understood and implemented when technology is integrated by applying frameworks like Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Second, the study was limited to a specific group of in-service teachers and their perspectives.

  generallimitations
  Keywords: future teachers content explore expertise influences game design across different subjects grade levels examine pedagogy
• THE ROLE OF BOARD GAMES IN ENHANCING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AMONG ACADEMIC LYCEUM STUDENTS IN CENTRAL ASIA (2026) · Language Bridge Academic Journal · doi

  Based on the theoretical analysis and empirical evidence reviewed in this article, the following seven practical recommendations are offered: 1. English language teachers should systematically incorporate board games from the Activate collection — available free of charge through the American English digital portal (American English, 2024) — into their regular lesson plans, ensuring that game activities are clearly aligned with curricular vocabulary and language objectives and embedded within a structured pre-game, during-game, and post-game instructional sequence. 2. Teachers are advised to begin with shorter, more structured game activities before progressing to more open-ended formats, allowing students to develop familiarity and confidence with game-based learning gradually. Teachers should explicitly communicate the communicative learning objectives of each game activity to students, countering any perception that games are insufficiently rigorous. 3. Academic Lyceum administrators should provide institutional support for game-based ELT innovation by allocating adequate resources for game materials, providing flexible

  generalrecommendations
  Keywords: game based english teachers language games american activities objectives structured students learning theoretical empirical evidence

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