Games are more than systems to master; they are engines of iterative thought. Through play, users engage in a retroductive loop: an unexpected event triggers hypothesis formation (abduction), leading to action planning and execution (deduction) and learning from feedback (induction). While it is central to player experience, current game AI typically optimizes for challenge balancing or content generation, rarely reflecting back on the player's evolving mental model. We propose treating both the player and the game as coupled retroductive agents that continuously observe, hypothesize, act, and learn across nested timescales. We formalize the retroductive processes of each agent and model their co-evolutionary dialogue as an exchange of inferences and feedback, positioning the game not as a reactive system but as a thinking partner. Building on this formalism, we articulate the vision of retroductive play: Gameplay as an epistemic negotiation in which the system deliberately probes, challenges, and reshapes the player's mental model while refining its own, judging progress by shifts in understanding rather than optimized performance. Retroductive play invites players-and the game that serves them-to respawn their ways of thinking.

This paper introduces BrainBuilder, a Virtual Reality (VR) serious game designed to support learning about insect neuroanatomy as part of an undergraduate neurobiology curriculum. Leveraging a cognition-oriented design, we used the revised Bloom’s taxonomy to translate complex learning objectives into specific cognitive instructions, subsequently implemented through various engaging game mechanics. The learning scenarios include a shooting game for brain structure identification, a whacka-mole game for naming brain parts, a throwing game for understanding brain regions, and a puzzle game for assembling brain components. The development of BrainBuilder follows a user-centered approach, incorporating formative evaluations to refine gameplay and instructional content.

This paper presents Baked Burger Bash, a serious game that aims to enhance a drug prevention program for adolescents using virtual reality (VR). The game is based on a simulation of acute cannabinoid intoxication embedded in an interactive cooking game. The player takes on the role of a food truck chef who needs to serve up the orders of passers-by. Various effects of intoxication make it hard to live up to the customers’ expectations. In this paper, we present the scientific background, insights from formative playtests, and feedback from a drug prevention expert who guided the iterative development.

There are uncountable things to be remembered, but most people were never shown how to memorize effectively. With this paper, the application The Art of Loci (TAoL) is presented, to provide the means for efficient and fun learning. In a virtual reality (VR) environment users can express their study material visually, either creating dimensional mind maps or experimenting with mnemonic strategies, such as mind palaces. We also present common memorization techniques in light of their underlying pedagogical foundations and discuss the respective features of TAoL in comparison with similar software applications.