Epistemic games: computer games that can help players learn to think like engineers, urban planners, journalists, architects, and other innovative professionals, giving them the tools they need to survive in a changing world.
When students play epistemic games, they participate in simulations of a society that they might someday inhabit. These games help them to develop ways of thinking and knowing that are valued in the world, giving them a way to imagine who they might someday become.
Why “Epistemic”? The word epistemology comes from the Greek root words episteme, meaning “knowledge” or “understanding,” and logos, meaning “thought” or “study.” Thus epistemology is the study of knowledge and what it means to know something.
Thus, epistemic games are games that help players learn ways of thinking–the epistemologies–of the digital age.