Snakeleev: A Gamified Serious Game for Learning the Periodic Table

This work introduces Snakeleev, a gamified serious game designed to enhance learning and memorization of the periodic table of chemical elements through an engaging and interactive experience (https://pietrogalizia.github.io/Snakeleev/). For the first time, Snakeleev transforms the classic Snake game into an educational tool, replacing apples with chemical elements and challenging players to recognize and classify them based on thematic "diets" tied to real-world applications, such as smartphone components and critical raw materials. By integrating gamification, active learning, and real-world applications, this Snake-based video game fosters interdisciplinary connections, linking the periodic table to materials science, sustainability, and technology. Its thematic diets range from energy and electronics to biology, geology, and astronomy, while some explore socioeconomic and linguistic aspects, such as Latin and Greek etymologies. A preliminary statistical analysis suggested a positive learning effect. After 10 and 20 min of gameplay, students' scores improved markedly, with Cohen's d ranging from 1.23 (indicating very large effect for symbol-to-name association of chemical elements) to 2.67 (huge effect for classification by diet). The greatest learning gains occurred within the first 10 min, particularly on less familiar topics. The Friedman test (p < 0.0001) indicated statistically significant improvements. Surveys showed that over 90% of students found Snakeleev engaging and helpful, with many recommending it, stating: "It definitely saves me hours of studying" and "Even without trying, you automatically learn the periodic table quickly". Beyond chemistry, Snakeleev's innovative and pioneering framework enables future expansions into other disciplines, including Snakileo Snakilei (physics), Phytonacci (mathematics), and SnEco (waste sorting), extending its application not only to science education but also to other fields. By merging education and entertainment, Snakeleev stands as the first and original gamified Snake-based serious game, reimagining Snake not only to explore the periodic table of elements, but also to foster curiosity and interdisciplinary exploration across STEM, humanities, and environmental education.