If you've ever watched students' eyes glaze over during a "quick review," you already understand the issue with passive repetition. J.D. Mendez, professor of chemistry at IU Columbus, decided to engage learners using games instead.
Mendez's latest creation, Periodic Pipes, turns the periodic table into a board game. Players take turns moving along the path (the table itself), calling out atomic properties as they go. The goal is to be the first to reach plutonium and claim the title of Periodic Champion. Instead of treating the periodic table purely as a wall poster, Mendez has transformed it into a space that learners can travel through, with frequent micro-learning opportunities for recall, recognition, and feedback along the way.
Mendez didn't begin with an elaborate prototype. Like many who are experimenting with game-based learning, he started small with a Jeopardy-style review as a way to break the monotony of traditional review sessions. But then he wanted something with more of a narrative element, something closer to an adventure than a quiz.
That homebrew chemistry role-playing game (RPG) is still in play each semester, but Mendez noticed a practical issue that will sound familiar to anyone who's ever tried to add a narrative to a learning activity:
- It's easy (for him) to write chemistry problems.
- Unfortunately, it's much harder to write and wrap these problems into an interesting story, especially when some story elements need to be made up on the fly.
Recently, he's shifted his energy to more traditional board game formats, including Periodic Pipes, where the game loop sustains engagement without requiring a narrative. One of the most useful takeaways from Mendez's experience is that the hardest part of game-based learning isn't always the pedagogy; it's often the production. With the chemistry RPG, time and story writing were the bottlenecks. With board games, he found a different constraint. Mendez says, "The art and design were surprisingly difficult for me. I have much more respect for artists now after trying and failing to make some prototypes myself."
This is an underrated lesson for faculty who want to build learning games by themselves. Even a simple board game has potential design problems hiding in plain sight—for example, layout, readability, visual hierarchy, icon consistency, and the general truth that humans cannot parse clutter when they're also trying to learn (also referred to as cognitive overload). This does not mean taking on such a project is impossible; it may just take a few more iterations than expected to get to the intended product. Mendez prototyped multiple game boards before settling on one.
Mendez is honest about how students respond.
That line contains a relevant pedagogical implication, where games aren't about turning every learner into a gamer. They're about changing classroom dynamics, shifting students from audience members to active participants, and turning individual rote memorization practices into activities that encourage learners to connect and learn from one another. Periodic Pipes was also built with a lower barrier to entry for learners than his chemistry RPG. Even though the mechanics were simpler, the new game still aligns with the original purpose, which is to create a space for structured repetition without feeling like a drill.
Mendez's work continues to bridge the gap between chemistry education and gameful strategies for learning, making challenging science concepts more approachable. Through the Layered Learning Program grant at IU Columbus, he is currently working with a team of student researchers to expand these tools, including 3D-printed atomic models and other games. As he puts it, sometimes the best way to learn the elements is to simply walk through them. His chemistry games have also inspired learners to create game-based experiences for others. You can read more about one of Mendez's inspired learners in our student voice article.
