Comprehending the influence of brain games mode over playfulness and playability metrics: a fused exploratory research of players' experience

Undertaking cognitively stimulating activities over the course of life, such as playing brain games (BGs), is only possible if they continuously deliver a playful as well as playable experience. The understanding of how these subcomponents of experience (i.e. playfulness and playability) get influenced in both modes (single vs. two-player) of BGs was previously fuzzy. The objective of the presented research was to gain more insight into the preceding phenomenon. Various factors were recorded under both experience metrics (playfulness: engagement, enjoyment, and anxiety and playability: usability, adaptability, and non-invasiveness) during the presented research (n = 117) that incorporates the series of BGs play. Statistical analysis was performed on the recorded data that revealed significant correlations between as well as within the factors of both experience metrics. The presented research further implicated the quantitative findings in relation to the employed BGs' design and participants' social interaction. Thus, it is concluded that both modes of BGs dominate one another in terms of arousing the various factors of both experience metrics; however, neither mode delivers playfulness and playability in an absolute manner.