Embracing the <em>Fiasco!</em>: Roleplaying Games, Pedagogy and Student Success

This article explores the relationship between games and pedagogy through the example of the roleplaying game Fiasco!. Fiasco! is a part of a growing genre of collaborative roleplaying games (RPGs) that have important applications in the university classroom. Fiasco! is an innovative game system that upends the traditional model of Game Master-led RPGs to create a collaborative environment for players to create their own stories. This paper explores how the unique model embedded within Fiasco! can be employed as a pedagogical tool for active student-led learning. To showcase the pedagogical innovations of a game like Fiasco!, we present classroom applications in English, Anthropology, and Sociology. Our experiences teaching with Fiasco! show how quickly and intuitively the game can be integrated into curricula with significant benefits for student engagement and learning. Roleplaying games that emphasize player agency, like Fiasco!, offer adaptive and innovative strategies for student-led learning in an interdisciplinary setting. Much as the structure of Fiasco! drives player engagement by making each player an equal participant in the generation of narrative content, using Fiasco! in the classroom allows each student an equal stake in developing course material. Beyond individual case studies, this article offers pedagogical inspiration for using Fiasco! in a variety of classroom settings that offer the possibility of an adaptive and interdisciplinary approach to student engagement.