Classroom Games/Experiments 

This site outlines our work on classroom games/experiments in economics education.

Dr. Matthew Olczak - Aston University 

- Principal Fellow of Advance HE, Executive member of the Economics Network, Runner-up Economics Network's Outstanding Contributions to Economics Education Award   

Dr. Chris Wilson - Loughborough University 

- Senior Fellow of Advance HE, Associate of the Economics Network, Winner of Loughborough University Research Informed Teaching Award 2020  

We have expertise in adopting, researching and designing games and experiments as teaching tools that allow students to make economic decisions and/or experience economic incentives first hand in deliberately designed settings. In particular, we extensively use the free online platform ClassEx to design and run online games/experiments.  

As detailed below, we have published widely on classroom games and spoken at a wide range of conferences and events, including the Royal Economic Society Annual Public Lecture Fringe Event (2025), the ESRC Festival of Social Science (2025), and the Bank of England Teacher Conference (2026). We also actively involved in the A-GamE centre at Aston University. 

Journal Articles: 

• Using an Interactive Classroom Game to Improve the Teaching of Mixed Strategies (M.Olczak and C.Wilson)  - IN PROGRESS. 

• Gamification - F2F, Online, Synchronous? A Case Study Comparison (M.Olczak and C.Wilson) - IN PROGRESS. 

•  Adapting and Enhancing a Classroom Experiment for Remote Asynchronous Delivery: A Practical Case Study (2026), Journal of Economic Education, 57(1), 53-66 (M.Olczak and C.Wilson).  

• The Use of Robotic Players in Online Games (2022) Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Proceedings of the Annual ABSEL Conference, (49) (J.Guest, M.Olczak and R.Riegler). 

• A classroom experiment on the causes and forms of bounded rationality in individual choice. (2020) Journal of Economic Education, 51 (1): 31–41 (A.R. Bennato, A. Gourlay and C.Wilson). 

Survey Chapters: 

• Delivering Games in an Online Remote Teaching Environment. In: Elliott, C., Guest, J., & Vettraino, E. (Eds.), Games, Simulations and Playful Learning in Business Education (2021), Ch.7, Edward Elgar Publishing (J.Guest and M.Olczak). 

• The Use of Short In-Class Games. In: Daniels, K., C. Elliott, C., Finley, S., & Chapman, C. (Eds.), Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Perspectives from a Business School, (2019), Ch.23, Edward Elgar Publishing (J.Guest, M.Kozlovskaya and M.Olczak). 

Recent Presentations and Training Activities 

• University of York Department of Economics (June 2026) 

• Chartered Association of Business Schools - Learning, Teaching & Student Experience (May 2026) 

• Economics Network Early Careers Workshop - University of Strathclyde (April 2026) 

• Queen's University Belfast Department of Economics (January 2026) 

• Developments in Economic Education Conference (September 2025)  

• Royal Economic Society Annual Public Lecture School Fringe Event (November 2025) 

• ESRC Festival of Social Science (October 2025)