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"Strokes are a leading cause of death and disability and have been described as a "worldwide epidemic" [5]. Strokes cause disability, partial paralysis and leave up to 85% of their victims with some form of motor impairment. Stroke rehabilitation starts as soon as possible and involves repetitive movement which people find repetitive and boring. A study [1] has found that as few as 31% of people complete their exercises as recommended. Adding to this the high cost of one on one therapy and transport to see specialists, stroke rehabilitation is a major problem. Games have been trialed for stroke rehabilitation to increase patient motivation and reduce costs. This literature review aims to find out to what extent games have therapeutic value and further, what characteristics make a good game for stroke rehabilitation. We find that in order for a game to be successful it must be based on solid therapeutic principles as well as game design principles including "challenge" and "meaningful feedback". Different hardware and software can be used as long as it follows game design principles to encourage patients to perform therapeutic exercises. Games must also take into account the low morale of recent stroke victims and avoid discouraging beginners."

"Motion-based games help to increase the likelihood that a patient will complete therapeutic exercises at home by using a game context to motivate the patients. The scope of this paper is to explore the interactive technologies that are used to develop these games, and their value in the context of stroke rehabilitation. The games will be evaluated from both a result focused perspective and patient usability perspective."