Gamification and its implementation through serious games are gaining significant attention, particularly in higher education. Gamification creates dynamic and interactive educational experiences, enhancing student engagement, motivation, learning outcomes, and competence acquisition through game elements in a non-game context.

A possible issue with gamification is how to adapt successful serious games developed by other educators or for subjects different to those that someone is teaching. We identified this issue recently when presenting, via a poster at a conference, a serious game based on a board and questions. The game is called Cyberpatrol and was developed to teach security analysis in a first-year course of a Degree on Informatics Engineering. Inspired by the ‘game of the goose’, teams of students progress through a board, answer true/false questions, might challenge other teams, and win or lose points. The poster and the game generated considerable interest among conference attendees and many asked if and how the game could be adapted to their university courses.

Game adaptation in general and Cyberpatrol adaptation in particular can be challenging without clear instructions, including suggestions on how to best design, run, and benefit from the game. Lack of guidance might result in ineffective game adaptation or non-adoption despite the successful application of the original game.

As example of how to adapt a serious game, we present in detail a generalization of the principles and the mechanics of the Cyberpatrol game. The generalization is based on several key needs, most notably: identification of learning topics (e.g., four topics), selection of images for the topics (e.g., a shield), creation of questions (e.g., true/false ones), decision upon the points that the players will win or lose in different situations (e.g., when answering correctly o incorrectly questions, as a result of the challenge, or when landing on special square), and decision upon rewards for winner (e.g., extra points in an exam). We explain how these needs have been addressed for Cyberpatrol and how they can be addressed for other subjects. In addition, we discuss aspects that can contribute to engagement and to learning during the game, such as asking students to justify their answers.

The generalization is useful for anyone interested in incorporating gamification into a course, and particularly a Cyberpatrol-based game. It provides educators with guidance about how to create their own games, thereby enabling the enhancement of student learning and interest in a course. Educators can further leverage from the successful application of Cyberpatrol over the past five years.

Keywords: Security, gamification.