6 Tips to Learn Strategy Games Quickly @benjaminkeep

Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

Do you want to get better at strategy games? If so, you've got to change the way you approach them. After playing many strategy games and teaching others how to play, here is the best advice I have for new players struggling to get better.

Join my online learning community: benjaminkeep.com/community

00:00 Focus on learning (not winning)
00:43 Reduce complexity
01:45 Make predictions
02:40 Balance practice and analysis
03:47 Avoid results-based thinking
04:31 Ask questions (even if they're dumb)

*Note: For some reason I say "results-oriented" thinking, but I mean "results-based" thinking. I will blame sleep deprivation.

What, no list of references in this one? For shame! I have failed you Youtube...

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$How Games Help Us Learn | Game-Based Learning Games can help us learn. But how? And when are they most effective? Join my online learning community: https://www.benjaminkeep.com/community 00:00 Introduction 00:27 Three Ways That Games Can Motivate 03:48 Four Ways to Teach Concepts and Skills 09:22 Whats the Difference Between Gamification and Game-based Learning? 10:10 The Idea Behind Preparation for Future Learning 14:17 The Key Principle to Making Games Effective for Learning Game examples used in the video: Kahoot, Math Jumps, Wuzzit Trouble, Mario, Airplane Spotter cards, Coding Pirates (海霸), Dragonbox Numbers, Space Invaders, Stats Invaders, Call of Duty, and Civilization. What about games that dont help you learn? https://youtu.be/WYl-nZyoEXs References: Tobias, S., Fletcher, J. D., & Wind, A. P. (2014). Game-based learning. Handbook of research on educational communications and technology, 485-503. (currently at http://acikders.atauni.edu.tr/pluginfile.php/75303/mod_resource/content/1/GameBasedLearning_V2_1.pdf) [General background on the idea.] Arena, D. A., & Schwartz, D. L. (2014). Experience and explanation: Using videogames to prepare students for formal instruction in statistics. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(4), 538-548. (currently at https://aaalab.stanford.edu/assets/papers/2013/Experience-and-Explanation-OnLine-First.pdf) [This is the one on Stats Invaders.] Arena, D. A. (2012). Commercial video games as preparation for future learning. Stanford University. (currently at https://www.academia.edu/download/42560722/CommercialVideoGamesAsPreparationForFutureLearning_DylanArena.pdf) [This is the disseration I mentioned using Call of Duty and Civilization.] Arena, D. (2015). Video games as tillers of soil. Theory Into Practice, 54(2), 94-100. (https://sci-hub.st/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00405841.2015.1010843) [On the preparation for future learning idea] Jimenez, O., Arena, D., & Acholonu, U. (2011, June). Tug-of-War: A card game for pulling students to fractions fluency. In Proceedings of the 7th international conference on Games+ Learning+ Society Conference (pp. 119-127). (currently available at https://www.academia.edu/download/6979659/Jimenez,%20Arena,%20Acholonu%20-%20Tug%20Of%20War%20-%20GLS%20Proceedings%20(2011).pdf) [Note how, in this project, when they tested their initial design, students’ game experiences weren’t translating to out-of-game contexts.] Long, Y., & Aleven, V. (2014, June). Gamification of joint student/system control over problem selection in a linear equation tutor. In International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (pp. 378-387). Springer, Cham (pdf currently https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yanjin-Long/publication/268577301_Gamification_of_Joint_StudentSystem_Control_Over_Problem_Selection_in_a_Linear_Equation_Tutor/links/5470fb2b0cf24af340c3b8fd/Gamification-of-Joint-Student-System-Control-Over-Problem-Selection-in-a-Linear-Equation-Tutor.pdf) [An example of where Dragonbox wasn’t effective.] On how to use Dragonbox effectively in the classroom, check out: https://tapintoteenminds.com/how-to-effectively-use-dragonbox-in-your-solving-equations-lesson/. Note how much time he spends drawing connections between the game and the target skill.$

Benjamin Keep, PhD, JD |

6 Tips to Learn Strategy Games Quickly