How to Fail Your Research Degree:
The Ultimate Research Game for Grad Students

Discover 'How to Fail Your Research Degree' – A Research Game That Teaches You How to Succeed!

'How to Fail Your Research Degree' is a board game designed to help postgraduate students get a rapid overview of the research process. Through humour and engaging gameplay, this research game teaches you how to avoid the common pitfalls of research and guides you towards successfully completing your degree. In the game, you might think you are going to fail... but it makes you more likely to succeed in your real research project!

example research project framework from How to Fail Your research Degree game

Why Play 'How to Fail Your Research Degree' Research Game?

  • Educational Entertainment: While the title might be a joke, the content is serious – you'll gain a deeper understanding of research processes while having a great time with peers through this research game.
  • Learn Through Laughter: The research game uses humour to present real challenges faced by research students, making it a fun and memorable way to learn valuable research skills.
  • Stress Relief: Research can be stressful. This research game allows you to address any fear of failure head on - learning from each other as you get an understanding of how to prepare for and mitigate risks.
  • Perfect for Study Groups: A great icebreaker, this research game is ideal for group study sessions, inductions, or departmental events.

How to Play the Research Game

The research game is designed for 2-12 players (in 2 - 4 teams) and typically lasts 60-90 minutes. Here’s how it works:

  • Start Your Research Journey: Each player begins as a new grad student and navigates through the stages of research, from planning your project to writing up your dissertation or thesis in this research game.
  • Face Real-Life Challenges: Players draw Event cards that depict common student research scenarios, each with its own humorous twist.
  • Plan for Success: Use the research activities you have built up to overcome obstacles, avoid setbacks, and move closer to completing your research degree - all whilst gaining an understanding of how different activities benefit your research in this research game.
  • Vicarious Learning through Competition: The team with the best thesis in the final round wins, but the real victory is the knowledge this research game gives the whole group along the way.

What’s Inside the Research Game Box?

  • Research Activity Tiles: 4 decks of research activity tiles that represent work researchers do at each stage of a research project: Planning; Contextual Review; Implementation of the research project; and Write-Up.
  • Event Cards: 3 decks of cards that represent relevant risks and things that happen during your research journey in this research game.
  • Custom Game Pieces: 16 custom-designed Work Late tiles that reinforce the importance of connection within your research project.
event cards from How to Fail Your research Degree research game
example activity tiles from How to Fail Your research Degree game
work late cards from research game

Who Can Benefit from the 'How to Fail Your Research Degree' Research Game?

  • Master's and MRes Students: Perfect for taught master's and Master of Research (MRes) postgraduate students to familiarize themselves with the research process through this research game.
  • First-Year PhD Students: This research game is also ideal for first-year PhD students to understand the common risks and how to avoid them.
  • Final Year Undergraduates: Helps final-year undergraduates gain insights into the research process before embarking on their own projects, thanks to the research game.
  • Early Career Researchers: Great for early career researchers to (re)familiarize themselves with research management and terminology, all within the context of a fun but realistic research game.
  • Novice Researchers and EAL Students: The research game is also beneficial for novice researchers and those with English as an additional language, offering an accessible introduction to research terminology and processes in UK Higher Education.

Real Student and Teacher Reviews of the Research Game

"The game taught various elements of research in a fun and interactive manner."

"I could relate to my own research process throughout the research game."

"Really good tool to brainstorm process of research."

"Very positive experience as it is very well organised and didactic and present a clear framework for approaching research."

"Really excellent way into thinking through the mechanics of research!"

"I remember at the time the game made me think about how carefully I had planned my research and prompted me to re-think the timescales required for things like ethical clearance. It also encouraged me to rethink my approach to backing up my work. I think overall the game had a positive impact on my approach to planning my research project, as I took a lot of it into consideration when planning the next stages of my project."

"I hope my classmates do this!"

Order Your Research Game Now

Don't miss out on the fun! Order your copy of 'How to Fail Your Research Degree' research game today and bring some much-needed humour and insight into your academic life.

For more information or to buy the game, visit www.thegamecrafter.com/games/how-to-fail-your-research-degree. Or, you can get the research game completely free from the Downloads page.

research degree game