Serious games, unlike traditional games, are specifically designed to educate rather than purely entertain. They employ engaging gameplay mechanics to facilitate knowledge acquisition and skill development through the overcoming of various challenges. Player performance is tracked and evaluated throughout the gaming process. Successful completion of challenges often results in rewards such as points, level advancement, or power-ups. Educational content is seamlessly integrated into the gameplay, allowing for its subconscious absorption by players. The effectiveness of the method is mainly due to the mood it gets players into, often times more stressfree and joyful than traditional learning. Serious games strive to cultivate positive emotions, therefore motivating students to continue playing. This engagement lets players take part actively in the learning process, while also having fun.

Our study explores the potential of serious games to improve students' interest and help them understand chemical concepts. We have developed a board game related to electron configuration, the purpose of which is to develop students' critical thinking and improve their performance in the mentioned topic. The game can be used in both gymnasium and high school, with minor modifications. In this research, we targeted gymnasium students with the mentioned technique. We evaluated the changes in students' knowledge and attitudes with pre- and post-tests. The results show that the gamified approach resulted in an improvement regarding the students' motivation towards learning chemistry. The students have also reported a greater sense of achievement. These results suggest that our board game is an effective tool for promoting active learning and increasing students' participation in chemistry education.

Serious games create engaging and interactive learning experiences that captivate learners. They often require learners to solve complex problems and make critical decisions, fostering higher-order thinking skills. Our game focuses on cultivating chemical knowledge with a sprinkle of chemical culture, meaning that some game mechanisms include important and fun facts about scientists, such as Marie Curie, Mendeleev and many more. We carefully integrated the game into traditional educational settings, matching the curriculum, thus ensuring an alternative way to teach electron configurations. Our findings indicate that the gamified approach significantly enhanced students' motivation and engagement in chemistry. The game's ability to create a positive learning environment and provide immediate feedback contributed to increased student achievement. Additionally, the game's incorporation of historical figures and interesting facts about chemistry added an extra layer of interest and cultural context. By combining educational content with entertaining gameplay, serious games can revolutionize the way we teach and learn science.

Keywords: Chemistry education, serious games, motivation, electron configuration.