2. Collect points to buy things

Examples: Starbucks Stars, hotel and airline rewards programs

This game type is similar to the first in our list: the accomplishment badges. The difference? Instead of compiling a collection of badges, the players can use what they earn to buy things. Points become a currency. The strategy is in whether to spend or save, and what to spend on. This may be one of the easier game hooks to implement. 

How to use it in class: Identify the actions students must perform to earn points. It could be academic tasks. It could be demonstration of skills. It could even be character traits noticed by the teacher or other students. Then, identify what students can spend points on. Don't worry about buying lots of rewards! Simple privileges can work, like seating choice, assignment choice, special attention, etc. Food and drink can be an inexpensive way to reward if you want something more tangible. 

4. Amass the best collection

Examples: Monopoly, Pokemon Go

"Wait. You have one of those?" "Wow, I wish I had all of those like you!" In games where collections are key, it's all about curating the best set of assets. In games like Monopoly, the collection serves a greater purpose -- charging rent and growing wealth. In games like Pokemon Go, it's two-fold. The better beasts win more battles. But the bragging rights of an impressive Pokemon collection can be equally motivating.

How to use it in class: Start a set of items that students can collect. They can be characters, actual physical objects, power-ups, etc. Having them may give students certain privileges. Students draw an item after completing a certain task. Drawing cards out of a basket or something similar replicates encountering a random Pokemon to catch. Creating some rarer finds and lots of common finds can make getting the rarer ones more exciting! (Note: telling students how many of each item there are makes identifying common/rare items easier.)

5. Role-playing games

Examples: Dungeons and Dragons, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering

One of the big draws of a role-playing game is the character you play. Character types often have strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes, they have certain tools, weapons, and spells available to them that other characters don't. In Dungeons and Dragons, you can choose among barbarians, druids, clerics, wizards and more. In these games, developing a character and his/her persona is half the fun.

How to use it in class: Identify a class game theme (i.e. medieval times, Star Wars, fantasy, sports). Then, identify the types of characters and what their attributes are. Each character has higher or lower ratings in a given attribute. Determine how each attribute connects to class and how students can add (or possibly decrease) their ratings in each attribute. When students complete a task or demonstrate a skill in class, they can earn power-ups for their attributes.

7. Sandbox games (build an empire piece by piece)

Examples: Clash of Clans, Settlers of Catan, Minecraft, Sim City

Sandbox games give their players something that students crave: freedom. Go anywhere on the map. When you get there, do anything you choose. Interact with what you find there and see what happens. Sometimes, there are storylines to be followed or challenges to try. But sometimes, the world is just out there to explore.

How to use it in class: Freedom of choice is a wild, untamed, powerful-yet-scary realm of education. To tap into the hook in these types of games, it requires a bit of letting go. For instance, in Minecraft, players are given a plot of land and the freedom to do whatever they'd like in it. In your classroom, students can explore a broad topic however they like as long as it's in the confines of that topic. Choices could be as narrow as selecting between two or three narrow topics.

On another side of the sandbox games realm, students can present their findings in a Clash of Clans/Catan/Minecraft/Sim City style -- or even within some of those platforms!

8. Fact and information recall

Examples: Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Boggle, Trivia Crack, Jeopardy!

These games are a mixture of trivia games and word games. They play upon the existing information you already have in your head. They quantify what you're able to conjure from your mind in different ways. In Scrabble, letters get point values. In Trivial Pursuit, correct answers let you move forward a certain number of spaces. In the end, there is some correlation between the quality and quantity of information you can recall and your performance.

How to use it in class: These types of games are high on fact recall, which is low on critical thinking skills. However, recall and repetition are key to remembering facts long-term. When you assign point values to certain kinds of remembering, it adds a game element to the activity. Assigning less points to "easier" questions and more points to "harder" questions helps the player see how well he/she is playing the game. This is why classroom versions of Jeopardy! have been so popular. A leaderboard helps teams and individuals see how they're competing against the group.

9. Creative communication

Examples: Scattergories, Win, Lose or Draw, Pictionary, Charades, Mad Gab

There's an element of improv in these games. Participants are given a topic. Then, they're expected to communicate it in a way that others are able to guess it. Often, the more creatively and outside-the-box the participant thinks, the better his/her chances are of winning. But if the participant's thinking varies too wildly from the group, it causes a communication breakdown.

How to use it in class: Play with creative ways of communicating in class. Judging how well those communications are sent and received inserts an element of gameplay in the activity. In the examples, drawing, acting, speaking and verbal description are all mediums of communicating. By playing with these mediums of communication -- and inserting an element of competition with them -- you can create a game scenario that engages your students much like the example games above.

10. Playing the odds

Examples: Yahtzee, Rock Paper Scissors, many traditional playing card games

There's an element of luck in each of these games. When playing cards, you can only play with the cards you're dealt. In Yahtzee, you can only work with the numbers you've rolled on your dice. And in Rock Paper Scissors, you have only three choices. However, in each of these, there's an element of strategy as well. Search for Rock Paper Scissors strategies and you'll find that it's deeper than 1:3 odds. 

How to use it in class: There are all sorts of connections to lessons in math class here. But there is also psychology. Data can be gathered from these games to be analyzed later.