Gamification in accounting: developing a social network game for the first accounting module

Gamification refers to the use of game design strategies to engage users in activities that are typically characterised by strictly utilitarian features. The intended contribution of this paper is to review how gamification strategies employed by social network games can help reduce accounting anxiety and improve student performance in the first financial accounting module for undergraduate students. It also documents the development and evaluation of a social network game specifically designed to implement gamification. The paper briefly discusses the use of games in accounting education, and some relevant predictors of student detachment, including: accounting anxiety, a perception that accounting is too difficult, and a surface level learning style. A feature description of the online game follows, and the ways in which these features implement strategies to overcome student detachment, including: levels of progressive difficulty, a hint support mechanism, and immediate feedback on double entry practice sets. The paper concludes with the results of a test and evaluation survey, providing insight into which features of the game were thought to have had educational or entertainment value.