Gamification in Enzymology with CARBGAME (CARd and Board GAmes in Medical Education)

Gamification has emerged as a promising pedagogical strategy in medical education, fostering active engagement, collaborative learning, and improved knowledge retention. Clinical enzymology, a core yet conceptually challenging area of biochemistry for medical students and also students majoring in the life sciences and related fields often suffers from poor comprehension and recall when taught using traditional didactic methods. To address these challenges, CARBGAME (CARd and Board GAmes in Medical Education) was developed as a structured gamified approach designed to reinforce enzymology concepts through an interactive board game format. This chapter provides a reproducible methodology for implementing CARBGAME in undergraduate medical and life science/other related disciplines classrooms. The protocol outlines essential materials, step-by-step instructions for designing and conducting the game, strategies for formative assessment, and critical troubleshooting tips. When applied in classroom settings, CARBGAME has been shown to significantly improve both short-term and long-term learning outcomes, enhance student motivation, and create a collaborative environment conducive to deeper learning. The format described here enables educators across institutions to replicate and adapt CARBGAME to different biomedical topics, thereby integrating gamification as an innovative teaching strategy in medical curricula.