For a detailed academic report on GBL, read this PDF of a paper by Sarina Rapini, which she wrote for the Centre for Excellence in Education at the University of Virginia. The abstract: “This paper focuses on the growing movement of digital game-based learning and the empirical evidence surrounding new research. How digital game-based learning can benefit STEM subjects (science, technology, math, and science), simulate intricate, real-world challenges and facilitate higher orders of learning is explored. Unique features of games that traditional education cannot provide as well as the barriers of implementation are discussed. The paper concludes by encouraging open source initiatives and suggesting further research in several specific areas before game-based learning is implemented on a large scale.”