Analogue Play in the Age of AI: A Scoping Review of Non-Digital Games as Active Learning Strategies in Higher Education

Non-digital traditional games such as board and card formats are increasingly recognised as valuable tools for active learning in higher education. These analogue approaches promote engagement, collaboration, and conceptual understanding through embodied and social interaction. This scoping review mapped research on the use of traditional, non-digital games as active learning strategies in tertiary education and examined whether the rise in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) since 2022 has influenced their pedagogical role. Following the PRISMA-ScR framework, a systematic search of Scopus (October 2025) identified 2480 records; after screening, 26 studies met all inclusion criteria (explicitly using card and/or board games). Whilst this was a scoping, not a systematic review, some bias due to using only one database and evidence could have missed some studies. Results analysed the use and impacts of the games and whether AI was a specific driver in its use. Studies spanned STEM, business, health, and social sciences, with board and card games most frequently employed to support engagement, understanding, and collaboration. Most reported positive learning outcomes. Post-2023 publications suggest renewed interest in analogue pedagogies as authentic, human-centred responses to AI-mediated education. While none directly investigated GenAI, its emergence appears to have acted as an indirect catalyst, highlighting the continuing importance of tactile, cooperative learning experiences. Analogue games therefore remain a resilient, adaptable form of active learning that complements technological innovation and sustains the human dimensions of higher-education practice.