Rolling enrollment open. Courses prorated.
Explore now.Why can't your teen put the controller down? What if they understood exactly why, and could use that knowledge to design their own game? Video Game Psychology teaches students the science behind what makes games addictive: reward loops, player motivation, difficulty curves, and more. Then they design their own game using those principles. It's psychology, design, and creativity all in one, perfect for the teen who wants to understand the machine and build a better one.
This course is not currently being offered. Please check back later or explore our other available courses.
Have you ever picked up a game and suddenly realized hours had passed? That is not an accident.
In this course, students step inside the mind of a game designer and discover the psychological techniques used to keep players engaged. They then use those same strategies to design their own game from scratch using Canva.
Each session combines psychology, discussion, and hands-on creation as students explore how real games use reward systems and dopamine loops, variable rewards and the slot machine effect, levels, progress bars, and achievement systems, and social pressure, competition, scarcity, and streaks.
This course goes deeper than just design. Students tackle the big ethical question of when engagement becomes manipulation, and how designers can still create fun experiences without exploiting players.
By the end of the course, every student presents their original game concept and explains the psychology behind it.
Your child learns behavioral science by studying something they already spend hours on. Understanding why games hook players teaches principles of motivation, reward, and decision-making that apply to marketing, product design, and psychology. Parents tell us their kids start noticing these patterns everywhere, not just in games.
Instead of just playing games, your child learns to see the invisible design choices that shape their experience. That awareness builds critical thinking about media and technology that colleges value and that serves them well as digital citizens. They also get to design their own game using everything they learn.
YSA is a UC-registered online publisher and WASC-accredited Supplementary Education Center, which means our courses can count toward official college credit requirements. State schools can recognize the courses your student takes here, adding real legitimacy to your homeschooling journey or building on top of your student's existing transcript. That opens up two ways to enroll: For Credit -- Your student earns official, accredited credit toward their transcript. For-credit students complete weekly assignments that build toward their transcript grade. Outside-of-class work ranges from 1-2 hours per week. Perfect for families who want documentation that reflects what their child is actually capable of -- to show the world how brilliant they are. For Enrichment -- Your student takes the very same course purely for the love of learning. No grades, no outside-of-class work, no credit attached. Just the content, the community, and the growth. Same course. Same mentor. Same experience in class. You choose what fits your family.
If you homeschool, this works seamlessly. If your student attends another school full time, we create a report card and transcript that we share with you, and you share with the school. It is up to your primary school to accept it and add it to your student's official transcript.
Discover the psychology behind why certain games are impossible to put down, from reward systems to flow states 
Learn the behavioral science and design principles that game studios use to keep players engaged 
Collaborate with peers to analyze real games and design their own using psychological principles they have studied 
Build a new perspective on gaming, understanding the mechanics behind their own habits and decisions as players 
Nicole P, M. Ed. I specialize in fun and sometimes scary history. I love to tell a good story. I love to create a tale in such a way that you are drawn in and you don't necessarily realize that you are sitting in a classroom. I also love to laugh. I love to be creative and design opportunities for students to connect to other students. I am a proud mom, serial entrepreneur, artist, case worker, author, mom, and teacher. Educationally, I have degrees in Sociology, Psychology, philosophy, and criminal justice and I recently completed my Master's in Education program and am getting my history certifications. I have run a domestic violence shelter, worked on mental health in a hospital, and did drop out prevention. I worked in the "field" for over a decade before going into business for myself. A lot of my work with children has involved teaching them how to evaluate, plan, and use logic to understand the world, events, and consequences. Critical thinking is a skill that I encourage and like to build into my classes as well as flexible thinking as both are essential life skills. I am also a published author and have been writing books, poetry, and for newspapers and magazines for over 30 years. I am a certified Common Sense Educator and have training in internet safety and working with students on digital citizenship.
WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING
Parents don't just see happier kids. They see sharper thinking, stronger friendships, and a child who actually wants to log on.
★★★★★
"My son plays a lot of games, and now he can explain the reward loops and streaks that keep him hooked. Nicole turned his hobby into real psychology."
Meredith C.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Nicole gets kids thinking about when engagement becomes manipulation. My daughter designed a game she is proud of and can defend the ethics behind it."
Rashid B.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son plays a lot of games, and now he can explain the reward loops and streaks that keep him hooked. Nicole turned his hobby into real psychology."
Meredith C.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Nicole gets kids thinking about when engagement becomes manipulation. My daughter designed a game she is proud of and can defend the ethics behind it."
Rashid B.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My 2e son hyperfocuses on games, and Nicole channeled that into designing his own concept and presenting it. Watching him explain the psychology was a proud moment."
Farrah N.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Nicole connects dopamine and variable rewards to games my son already loves. He suddenly cares about how the mind works, and it clicked because it was relevant to him."
Theo M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My 2e son hyperfocuses on games, and Nicole channeled that into designing his own concept and presenting it. Watching him explain the psychology was a proud moment."
Farrah N.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Nicole connects dopamine and variable rewards to games my son already loves. He suddenly cares about how the mind works, and it clicked because it was relevant to him."
Theo M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter used to just consume games. Now she analyzes them and even questions the design choices. Nicole gave her a critical eye I did not expect."
Vincent L.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The final project had my son present an original game concept to the group. Nicole helped my quiet kid stand up and explain his ideas with real confidence."
Selena O.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter used to just consume games. Now she analyzes them and even questions the design choices. Nicole gave her a critical eye I did not expect."
Vincent L.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The final project had my son present an original game concept to the group. Nicole helped my quiet kid stand up and explain his ideas with real confidence."
Selena O.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son plays a lot of games, and now he can explain the reward loops and streaks that keep him hooked. Nicole turned his hobby into real psychology."
Meredith C.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Nicole gets kids thinking about when engagement becomes manipulation. My daughter designed a game she is proud of and can defend the ethics behind it."
Rashid B.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My 2e son hyperfocuses on games, and Nicole channeled that into designing his own concept and presenting it. Watching him explain the psychology was a proud moment."
Farrah N.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Nicole connects dopamine and variable rewards to games my son already loves. He suddenly cares about how the mind works, and it clicked because it was relevant to him."
Theo M.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter used to just consume games. Now she analyzes them and even questions the design choices. Nicole gave her a critical eye I did not expect."
Vincent L.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The final project had my son present an original game concept to the group. Nicole helped my quiet kid stand up and explain his ideas with real confidence."
Selena O.
YSA parent
If you’re not 100% in love with the course, you have options depending on how you enrolled:
You can switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit or get a credit to use toward a future course.
You can either get credit toward a future course, switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit, or stop all future payments after a 30-day processing period.
No risk. No stress. Just the learning and belonging you have been looking for.
We can offer this because we know what we do works for thousands of other families. Kids become more self-confident. They find their people. And families tell us this is the place where their student finally feels welcome. We know it will work for your family, too.
All-Access Passes have separate terms and conditions. Please see the All-Access Pass pages.
It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway... to qualify for the satisfaction guarantee policy, you have to actually attend the classes. This is not a cancellation policy. It’s a satisfaction guarantee. You can’t be satisfied or dissatisfied if you don’t attend.
Young Scholars Academy is a virtual village that offers one-of-a-kind, engaging enrichment courses and community for 5-18-year-old bright, quirky kids to empower them to develop their strengths, make like-minded friends, cultivate life skills, build confidence, and feel great about themselves under the loving care of expert mentors. description2: >- Picture a place where your child fits in, is celebrated, mentored, and loves learning the unique content their beautiful brain craves. That happens every day at YSA for over 1,200+ families, and it can happen for your family, too.
WASC Accredited · 1,200+ Families · 93% Re-Enroll · 47+ States, 17 Countries, 6 Continents
Learn more about YSAQUESTIONS ABOUT THIS COURSE
Everything you need to know before enrolling your child.
Most online classes put 20-30 kids in a room with a teacher who reads slides. At YSA, your child joins a group of 8 or fewer students who think like they do, led by a mentor who was often once just like them. Cameras are optional. The content is chosen by passion, not grade level. And 93% of families re-enroll - because kids who have never liked school before fight to log on to YSA.
Yes. YSA families join from 47+ states and 17 countries across 6 continents. All you need is an internet connection. We schedule sections across multiple time zones so families worldwide can find a time that works.
Video Game Psychology: Design an Addictive Game meets once per week for 50 minutes, every week from August through December. Your child joins the same tight-knit group of up to 8 students and the same mentor all semester long. Same friends, same mentor, a new challenge every week.
Our gifted and 2e students experience such asynchronous development that hard age limits rarely tell the full story. If your student should be aged up or aged down, contact us at support@youngscholarsacademy.org or click the chat in the bottom right corner of the screen. We do this all the time.
Please don't confuse reactive distance learning with what happens at YSA. When a kid is engaged in a course they chose, with a mentor who gets them and peers who share their interests, the screen disappears. They're not on a screen. They're with their people. Parents tell us their children fight to log on to YSA.
If your child isn't loving a course by the end of the first week, swap into a different course. Same semester. No questions. Not the right fit within the first month? We'll stop payments, switch courses, or issue credit toward any future course. The credit never expires. And you keep every bonus you've received. Over 93% of YSA families don't just stay. They add more courses.
No. Cameras are always optional. Always. Many of our students start with cameras off and turn them on when they're comfortable. Our mentors engage every student equally, cameras on or off.
No. If you're here, you're in the right place. We don't require paperwork, evaluations, or labels. Whether your child has been formally identified as gifted or twice-exceptional, whether you suspect it but haven't pursued testing, or whether you just know your kid's brain works differently and nothing else has fit, they're welcome here.
Yes. YSA is an approved vendor with 10+ state ESA programs including Arizona ESA, Utah Fits All, ClassWallet, My Tech High, Florida Step Up, and others. Enroll directly to secure your child's spot, submit the invoice to your ESA, and your payment method is refunded when funds transfer. Many families pay zero out of pocket.
Click "See Available Times" on this page, pick the section that fits your schedule, and your child's spot is secured immediately. No phone call. No placement test. No prerequisite.
Right now, a kid who thinks like your kid is in a course they chose, with a mentor who was once just like them, surrounded by friends who don't think they're weird... they think they're interesting.
Your child is one click from finding out what that feels like.
An internet connection and a can-do attitude!