I agree that sometimes students use the 'scoring' as the focus, and they are not interested in learning the underlying content. I give my HS students extra credit for being in the top 5 score level. But I cannot do this with my adult learners. So, I usually get 100% participation with the HS students, and about 25% participation with the adults, since it doesn't do anything for their grade. I also find that the amount of time taken to prepare games exceeds the amount I use to prepare a lecture. So, from an educator's perspective, is it time well spent? That's a tough one for me, because I think the gamification of education is essential for some, but not others. It is just one tool in the toolbox. I find that when I use pre-made games, they are fraught with errors, and I have to do a lot of editing.
