| The goal of this Master Thesis is to study Game Based Learning (GBL) basic components and implement them in an educational environment, so as to improve students’ academic performance and engagement. Initially, the history of games is presented, highlighting their importance in human’s life. Then, the specifications and mechanisms of the games are analyzed for designers to be able to utilize them in the development of an improved educational experience. The result from this analysis is that despite the many elements that set the games as a unique educational tool, there are not enough data that can show their influence in students’ academic performance. Therefore, the goal of this thesis, is the design of a game, based on all - time classic board game Monopoly that will be used to improve students’ academic performance and will to learn. The interest, which is a sub-category of intrinsic motivation, according to Self Determination Theory (SDT), is connected to the students’ positive motivation. Our Monopoly type game was used as a learning tool in teaching European Geography. The research examines if this game has a statistically significant influence in students’ performance, as well as how performance and interest are related and how performance differs between boys and girls. The results that occurred from the quantitative analysis of the data were positive to all the research queries. The students’ performance, specifically, improved substantially after the game, while, at the same time, the great correlation between the two variables that resulted made evident the relation between the students’ interest and performance. The contribution of this research consists of its noteworthy outcome, since the positive influence of the game in the academic performance and the educational interest was examined and confirmed.
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