Boardcraft: Learning the Art of Strategic Decision-Making Card by Card

Abstract

Boardcraft, an interactive, sequential card game, is a powerful tool for teaching Strategic Management in an undergraduate Business Administration Degree. This innovative game provides students with practical experience in strategic analysis, business strategy formulation, and strategic decision-making, addressing one of the main challenges of social science teaching: practical application. The objective of the research to be carried out is to find evidence of a change in students' attitudes towards making strategic decisions. To do this, two questionnaires will be carried out, one before and one after the game's introduction in the classroom, three months apart. The data will tell us if decision-making through a business strategy game changes their perception and attitude towards decision-making by acquiring competencies and skills that prepare them better for decision-making throughout their career and life. This game will streamline the teaching of strategic management in higher education, a subject traditionally based on lectures and case studies. Teaching strategic management is complex since the student is immersed in a context of continuous decision-making that requires the application of an appropriate methodology for proper understanding. Game-based learning (GBL) activities like Boardcraft that bring strategic management closer to real-life contexts are desirable. The application of this game will also allow researchers to analyse the effect of experiential learning, the acquisition of interpersonal and conceptual skills, the importance of aesthetics and the introduction of fun elements in game-based learning.