Instances of mathematical thinking through collaborative gameplay

This paper examines the computer gameplay of two 12 year old children. In the analysis of gameplay in building a house without budget constraints and then a second house with budget constraints within "The Sims 3" video game in out-of-school settings, four variables appeared: Budget; Size of the House; Cost of furniture/devices; and Sims mood meter. This paper argues that those four variables influenced the mathematical relationships in building the two houses and the ways players' used the game's artefacts in line with their everyday and mathematical prior understandings affected their gameplay and therefore the exploration of mathematical relationships that form instances of players' mathematical thinking.