Design and evaluation of Enthralled : A higher education conversation game based on Euripides' Bacchae.

This article focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of *Enthralled*, an immersive educational conversation game based on Euripides' classical Greek tragedy *Bacchae*. Developed for undergraduate Liberal Arts courses, *Enthralled* promotes collaborative learning, perspective-taking, and reflection on democratic processes by engaging students in role-playing, voting on character motivations, and negotiating consensus. Playtesting across three courses at Loyola Marymount University demonstrated that the third, paper-based version of the game improved entertainment efficacy, usability, and contributed positively to learning outcomes related to classics, teamwork, and democratic deliberation. While challenges remain in measuring long-term knowledge transfer and balancing game complexity with usability, the game shows promise as a pedagogical tool for fostering difficult conversations about cultural values, implicit bias, and participatory democracy in higher education settings.