This videogame is just like my plant!

This paper presents a learning experience that was developed using the commercial videogame Rise of Nations for a graduate course on Manufacturing and Operations Strategy. This is a historical strategy game in which players compete by taking civilizations through progressive development stages. The game was employed under the Serious Games paradigm, in which a game is considered serious when it is used with an objective other than entertainment. This paper explains the objectives of the use of the game in the class, the regulations and learning guides that were employed, the experiences the students lived, the main points the students take away from the use of the game and other experiences that take place in the class in addition to the delivery of contents and development of skills. This experience took place at Universidad Icesi, in Cali, Colombia. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education