In the last years, there has been an increasing interest in the design of video
games as a tool for education, training, health promotion, socialization, etc. Usability, which
is a key factor in any video game, becomes even more important in these so-called
Bserious games^, where the users’ special characteristics should be considered, and the
game efficacy depends on the users’ adherence and engagement. However, evaluation of
the usability of this kind of games requires a redefinition of techniques, methods and even
terminology. In this paper, we elicit six research questions and conduct a systematic review
of the scientific literature, which resulted in the selection of 187 papers that contained
the most relevant responses. The conclusions of this systematic review illustrate the
general status of current academic usability evaluations of these games and the main trends
in the selection of methodologies and how are they applied. This view may be a very
valuable foundation for future researchMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación PROCUR@-IPT-2011-1038-90000
