Why is it that many children can’t sit still long enough to finish their homework and yet will spend hours playing on the computer? Video games are spectacularly successful at engaging young learners. It’s not because they are easy. Good video games are long, complex, and difficult. They have to be: If they were dumbed down, no one would want to play. But if children couldn’t figure out how to play them—and have fun doing so—game designers would soon go out of business.

To succeed, game designers incorporate principles of learning that are well supported by current research.