Board games in language and literature education: a systematic review

Introduction Game-Based Learning (GBL), as an active methodology, has facilitated the integration of games into the educational context with specific didactic objectives. While extensive literature addresses the potential of video games, board games remain a field yet to be studied comprehensively. Methods To address this gap, this paper presents a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines to examine the current state of research on board games within language and literature didactics. A comprehensive search across Web of Science and Scopus identified relevant empirical studies, which were selected based on predefined eligibility criteria and analysed through qualitative thematic synthesis. Results The findings reveal an emerging body of work focused primarily on primary education and teacher training, showing positive impacts on vocabulary and narrative skills. However, academic sources remain scarce, highlighting a critical lack of field-based studies targeting educators and a need for clear taxonomies based on game mechanics. Discussion Board games demonstrate strong pedagogical value, though more rigorous empirical research is required to consolidate their integration into language curricula.