Should You Decide to Accept It ...

Your Mission Save a Patient Infected with a Deadly Disease

The strategy: Locate the virus and activate immune cells in time—hurry! But don’t worry. It’s just a game, and by the end, you’ll learn all you need to know. Educational video games, like Immune Attack for high school students, can dramatically boost achievement, says Henry Kelly, president of the non-profit Federation of American Scientists, by combining immediate and continuous feedback with unlimited time for mastery. And consider this: Unlike a textbook, the game demands participation. “You can’t just sit there with your mind turned off,” Kelly explains.

—Nora Shalaway