Educational games have become a niche genre, with few games produced for the postsecondary market. This study intended to investigate game mechanics by providing an
educational game for first-year university math courses. Participants displayed such an aversion
to the educational game genre that the study shifted to a qualitative investigation of students’
attitudes toward educational games. Interviews revealed that math aversion was a more powerful
deterrent than expected, but additional themes included unexpected preconceptions toward
games, social identity factors, and themes involving trust; students simply did not trust that a
game with an educational purpose would be worth their time. A larger theme was utilitarian vs
hedonic evaluation: once the game was introduced as ‘educational’, the students assessed it for
its utility value, not just its hedonic value. Utilitarian assessment of educational games appears to
be an underexplored factor in educational game adoption, particularly in adult users such as postsecondary students. These interviews, along with an examination of exergame usage as an
analogue for adult educational game users, suggest that balancing utilitarian and hedonic
mechanics is key. Further research is needed to identify an ideal balance for “fun tools” to
enhance educational game adoption rates in post-secondary.
