DOMUS: An Educational Multiplayer Game for Touch Tables Using a Tangible User Interface

Educational video games enable participants to actively engage with a specific topic, leading to improved educational processes and learning outcomes. This methodology can also enhance critical thinking while providing an attractive learning environment and discussion platform. This paper introduces DOMUS, an educational video game inspired by ancient Roman history. The game was developed for museums and designed for multi-touch tables. It uses a Tangible User Interface (TUI) that allows users to move physical game pieces, simulating a real board game. Each participant receives a game piece, with which they have to perform tasks and read information about Roman history related to the task they are performing. Subsequently, we conducted a user study involving 12 participants in game sessions. After the game session, each participant completed a learning outcome questionnaire to assess the learning impact of a single session with DOMUS. The study found that participants answered 6.41 out of 9 questions on the learning outcomes questionnaire correctly. The average System Usability Scale score was 87.29.