The Software Project as a Serious Game

This report describes one of the most successful course project assignments that I have ever given. Upon reflection, I have concluded that its success came neither from the content of the project (which was quite ordinary) nor from the nature of the course. Rather, I attribute it to the form of the project, which was that of a multiplayer, not-quite zero-sum, game. Since this form could easily be adopted to other courses in other environments, it seems worth describing it and discussing the factors that contributed to its success.