Students of this module will be introduced to game studies literature, practice the analysis of digital games, and explore approaches suited to the researching of online and offline player cultures. Digital games are a massively significant and hotly debated contemporary media form. Stories and well-known characters now move between media: from games to film, literature, comics - and back again. Playing a game might involve getting to grips with the controls, interpreting rules, managing resources, following a story and pursuing goals while navigating an increasingly complex environment. Multiplayer games frequently support forms of social learning, and even the most competitive online worlds play host to collaboration and mentoring. In the first part of the module students will play games and engage with theory from game studies literature to explore the basics of games analysis (game definitions, play, role, space, narrative, representation and interpretation). In the second half of the module, attention turns to players and player cultures. We investigate aspects of player culture in relation to identity and community, collaboration and marginalization. This module draws on recent and ongoing research projects at UCL IOE. No prior experience of gaming is necessary. Students will explore games while engaging with research literature from the vibrant, evolving field of Game Studies.