Games engage people in ways that e-learning designers can only dream about. However, attempts to implement game-like elements in e-learning often fall flat, largely because designers attempt to leverage the style of games without a real understanding of how games actually work. Great gaming environments don't rely on pop-up text boxes and multiple-choice questions to provide players with interaction. Interaction in gaming environments is active, multifaceted, multilayered, auditory, visual, complex, and surprising. This session takes a look at how games get it right, what can be transferred to e-learning, and what research in neuroscience, biology, and evolutionary psychology can tell us about why people are so drawn to games. We all know that training rarely sees the kind of budgets available to large game design companies. Learn specific, practical lessons from games that can be incorporated into e-learning to make it more effective, useful, and fun.