Effectiveness of nutrition board games involving higher cognitive skills for primary school children in the context of Bloom’s taxonomy

Diet is a key factor associated with childhood obesity, and nutrition knowledge in food choices is crucial to ensure children adopt healthy lifelong eating habits. Educational games, such as educational board games, can promote healthy eating behaviour by providing a fun learning experience for children. In this pilot evaluative study, two board games, namely Nutrition Growth Quest and Supermarket Rush, were developed within a game design framework to develop cognitive skills in food group mapping and lunchbox design. The study explored changes in food group mapping among primary school children in grades 1 to 3 that resulted from playing the games. A total of 126 primary school students were invited to play the two board games. A mapping food test was administered before and after they played the games. After they finished playing, they completed a student evaluation questionnaire. The results indicated that all mean nutrition knowledge scores nonsignificantly increased from baseline after the board game experience. The percentage of children who agreed with the positive statements of the questionnaire ranged from 60% to 88%, indicating that they enjoyed the two board games. Overall, the two board games encouraged the children to make informed dietary decisions, and they can be used as educational tools to achieve nutrition goals. Copyright © 2025 Institute of Health Promotion and Education.