Learning about Europe through educational gaming

This paper explores the contribution to geography teaching which can be made by serious games. We describe the ways in which gaming has progressed from 'dissected maps' and jigsaws through board games, to the range of online games which are available today. We describe the development, in conjunction with European partner institutions, of a new game, entitled RU EU?, intended to raise student awareness of European issues, notably the question of European identity; this seems to be both important and topical at the time of Brexit. We describe the development and the nature of the game and its launch, and the feedback which we have received from students who have played it, and suggest that, while it is not necessarily a substitute for traditional lecture-style teaching, games such as this can provide an additional tool in the geography lecturer’s armoury.