Advanced Chemibold: A Ludic Approach to Identify Functional Groups in Organic Chemistry

Understanding functional groups is essential for mastering organic chemistry, particularly at advanced levels, where students must recognize less common chemical moieties. While organic chemistry textbooks and several educational activities─including games─focus on the most common functional groups, there is a noticeable lack of resources addressing more complex groups such as sulfur-, nitrogen-, oxygen-, boron-, and phosphorus-containing groups. Advanced Chemibold tackles this challenge by turning the study of complex functional groups into an engaging card game. Instead of traditional memorization, students learn through gameplay, with three progressively difficult levels that reinforce concepts using dice and specialized cards. When tested with 36 chemistry undergraduates at UNAM’s Facultad de Qumíca, quantitative results statistically demonstrated that players scored almost three points higher on average after playing compared to their initial test results. Additionally, students reported high levels of satisfaction and engagement through Likert type questionnaires. These results suggest that Advanced Chemibold is an effective, competitive, attractive, and enjoyable educational tool for reinforcing advanced functional groups in organic chemistry.