ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Language, Culture and Diversity
TEGA Toolkit: A Validated Framework for Inclusive Analogue Game Design in Higher Education
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom
- 2Center for Apprenticeship, Northeastern University, Boston, United States
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Despite growing evidence supporting game-based learning in higher education, educators lack comprehensive, validated frameworks for designing nclusive analogue games (non-digital physical games such as board games, card games, and tabletop activities, differing from digital serious games by emphasising low-tech flexibility) that accommodates diverse learning needs. This study presents the development and validation of the TEGA (Teaching Educators to Facilitate Game-based Assessment) Toolkit, a novel cybernetic-motivational design framework specifically created to support inclusive analogue game development in higher education contexts. Through a three-phase participatory design approach involving 35 stakeholders (educators, game designers, students, and individuals with diverse needs) across four European universities, we developed and iteratively refined the toolkit. Phase 1 focus groups identified 28 key design themes and established 14 specific inclusivity measures across motor, cognitive, visual, and auditory domains. Phase 2 and 3 beta testing sessions (n=18 and n=19 respectively) demonstrated significant improvements in educators' confidence and capability in creating inclusive games, with participants successfully adapting existing games (Kapp, 2012; Richard, 2017), using toolkit principles. The final TEGA Toolkit v3.0 comprises three integrated components: a Diagnosis Pack for learner profiling, a Design Pack incorporating Bartle's player typologies with accessibility guidelines, and an Assessment Pack providing validated evaluation instruments. Thematic analysis revealed that the toolkit effectively bridges the theory-practice gap, with participants reporting enhanced understanding of inclusive design principles and improved game-based learning outcomes. The TEGA Toolkit represents the first validated, comprehensive framework for inclusive analogue game design in higher education, providing educators with evidence-based tools to enhance student engagement while addressing diverse learning needs and accessibility requirements.
Keywords: game design, game-based learning, higher education, toolkit, inclusivity, analoguegames, accessibility, Educational innovation
Received: 28 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rye. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sara Rye
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