252 Copyright © 2010, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 16 The Effcacy of Games and Simulations for Learning Louise Sauvé Télé-université, Canada Lise Renaud University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada David Kaufman Simon Fraser University, Canada INTROdUCTION Game and simulation research on learning has been characterized by a large variety of approaches, as well as discrepancies in the presentation and inter- pretation of results. These have led to contradictory and confusing results on their educational efficacy. To begin to address these issues, we undertook a literature review based on a validated analytical framework to gauge the efficacy of educational games and simulations on learning (Sauvé, Re- naud, Kaufman, & Sibomana, 2008). This review identified 2,244 articles on games, simulations and simulation games published during the period 1998 – 2008 and analyzed in detail 806 relevant English and French articles to reach our conclusions. To ensure that the activities in the reviewed literature were truly “games” and “simulations,” we initially determined the essential attributes of these concepts, as presented in Chapter 1. This work enabled us to identify specific impacts as arising from games, simulations, or simulation games, based on descriptions or definitions of the learning activities as written by the article authors. Based AbSTRACT This chapter presents a synthesis of the literature (1998-2008) on the effcacy of games and simulations for learning. Based on defnitions and sets of essential attributes for games and for simulations, the authors examine the contributions of each to knowledge structuring and the development of problem solving skills. Noting that games and simulations have positive learning outcomes in various situations, the authors present variables to measure the knowledge and skills developed by learners who use games and simulations. This work is intended to contribute to the development of an analytical framework for future studies on the effcacy of games and simulations for learning. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-731-2.ch016