Dilation Nation:

Geometry Educational Game

10 wks | 4 sprints | client: high school math teacher

In Dilation Nation, students apply geometry skills in a competitive chase, using strategies to catch their opponents while avoiding capture.

Learning outcomes:

  1. Students will develop strategic problem-solving skills and embrace trial and error.

  2. Students will predict how changing the center of dilation and scale factor affects dilation.

  3. Students will identify angle congruence and side proportionality as conditions for triangle similarity.

*This game is the final product of a design course on educational games.

Game setup

Join the adventure in Dilation Nation! 🌟

In this exciting 4-player strategy game, the goal is simple: turn all the triangles into your side! 🏆

🎲 How to Play:

  • Each player starts with a unique triangle on a 16x16 digital game board.

  • Players roll the dice, move their triangles, and use dilation cards to change the size of their triangles.

  • Your mission? Catch your target triangle by overlapping them! When you do, that player joins your side, and together, you go after the next target. The team grows until all players are united!

💥 Twists and Turns:

  • Watch out! Overlap the wrong player, and you'll join their side.

  • Catch special tokens for bonus turns or face penalties!

  • The game ends when all players form one united team, or the game reaches a set number of rounds.

Get ready for a thrilling chase of triangles, strategy, and teamwork in Dilation Nation! Will you turn the board into your side? 🎯

Each player’s target when game starts.

Game board prototype

No more chocolate over broccoli!

A key challenge was avoiding “chocolate over broccoli”—our client’s term for adding superficial game elements to educational content. We focused on creating gameplay that embedded meaningful learning objectives, not just sugarcoating lessons.

Learning to design with intentionality:

Through four design sprints, we worked with our client to develop learning goals aligned with Common Core Math Standards. After brainstorming and discarding several ideas, we refined the mechanics of Dilation Nation to ensure each game element supported the learning objectives.

Ultimately, Dilation Nation manifests the careful balance between meaningful educational content and engaging gameplay, ensuring that every game element not only entertains but also supports the learning objectives at its core.