May 10, 2026
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Top Articles in Health Gamification for 2012

Ivan Kuo34 mins

Just a few more left in our Best of 2012 series! This week we’re looking at some of the top articles for Health Gamification in 2012. We’re looking at a number of awesome little devices and programs to educate, assist, and protect the ill as well as those practicing medicine. Remember that the gamification health need not only apply to the sick; it is just as helpful for medical practitioners as well. It would seem that a number of the most popular articles were related to pediatric gamification, or simply, gamification targeted at children’s health. Read the full list after the jump.

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The NY Times Features Gamification And Employee Fitness

Gary Henkle03 mins

On Christmas Eve The New York Times –  the paper of record – acknowledged the influence of gamification with an article which features delightful game mechanics in its online version, while the print version of the article appeared on the cover, page A1. Technology writer Nick Wingfield offered readers a basic introduction to the gamification movement with some case studies and a little bit of cotroversy as well. Online readers earned badges for reading the article, searching through it, for reading the comments and more.

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Playing Video Games Related to Stronger Surgery Skills

Ivan Kuo05 mins

I’ll never forget the moment when my friend’s father stated he bought a Wii because he had read some studies about how playing games improved hand-eye coordination related to surgery as he waggled a controller at the television screen. While not all Wii-actions might assist in laparoscopic surgery, a recent study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMBG) demonstrated playing video games was positively correlated with the ability to perform minimally-invasive surgery techniques.

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Family of Heroes Game Helps Soldiers and Families Cope with PTSD

Kevin Shane14 mins

The Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that between 11 and 20% of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffer from PTSD.  Yet many soldiers who suffer from PTSD are reluctant to seek help and their loved ones may not know how to encourage them to do so.  Some researchers are now using games in health as a strategy to get veterans the help they need. “Family of Heroes” by Kognito is an online simulation that helps equip families and friends of veterans to recognize symptoms of post-deployment stress and encourage veterans to seek help at the VA.

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$100,000 Cash Prize Available for the Next Top Gamified Health App

Ivan Kuo23 mins

What better way is there to entice gamifiers and game-designers to work than to hold a friendly competition? The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is holding a $200,000 competition to find the best game applications to improve individual and community health.

The Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) Games to Generate Data Challenge will be an open contest that will challenge developing teams to take data from the RWJF and apply it to improving health care with games. This contest is the second cash challenge sponsored by the Aligning Forces for Quality, which previously challenged designers to create gamified applications that assisted healthcare practitioners in generating quality data.

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Gabe’s Gamification Revolution with Richard Tate of HopeLab & Zamzee

Ivan Kuo02 mins

Each week on the Gamification Revolution web show, Gabe Zichermann answers all your burning gamification questions LIVE every Monday at 1pm ET/10am PT/1800 GMT at http://www.gamification.co/gamification-revolution/. This week’s show features Richard Tate, VP of Communications & Marketing at HopeLab. Here’s a rundown on some of the topics they spoke about: Designing wellness game interventions that don’t talk down to young…

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When Game Mechanics Overshadow Core Features – Leaderboards Disabled in Memrise

Ivan Kuo04 mins

Game mechanics can be great compliments to boost the effectiveness of a gamified system. However, it can be also detrimental when the mechanics are diverting user’s attention away from the core engagement loop. The recent suspension of Memrise’s leaderboard system has  provided an opportunity to understand the need for constant retaliation against exploitative users. Launched…

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Gamification Maker Faire 2012 Highlights – Jerry the Bear

Ivan Kuo32 mins

Without going to far into detail, this year’s Maker Faire at New York City’s Corona Park was absolutely incredible. I’ve been to the Hall of Science as a young child but over 15 years later, I felt as if I were transformed back into a child re-experiencing a world of wonder. However, this time – it wasn’t only the world of science I relived, I experienced the pinnacle of human creativity and engineering amassed by a wonderful eclectic group of engineers, artists, geeks, children, and parents all brought together to experience each other’s projects. The first story I would like to share today is from Sproutel co-founder, Aaron Horowitz, and his story about Jerry the Bear.

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