Treating something as a "game" is usually a pejorative - meaning that the thing is not taken seriously or is manipulated outside its original purpose. But games (in all their forms) are also good at building skills and knowledge in the players, and at moving players from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. Are there techniques used in games which apply to classes?
A description of the Reacting to the Past educational role-playing game. This article talks about the mechanics of running a Reacting to the Past game in class; it links to a previous article in the series in which the author describes his experience playing the game.
Amusing idea for a class activity here - you can use Google Sheets and the website Flippity.com to run a quiz game. I've seen this implemented with PowerPoint decks, but this way looks a lot simpler.
A review of the book "Minds On Fire", which discusses "subversive play" as an engaging pedagogy. Part 3 in a series on the "Reacting to the Past" series of "role-immersion" games; the other 2 entries are linked from this one.
A review of a free e-book on current research into the psychology of learning, written specifically to bring that work and its instructional implications to higher-education faculty.
Teachers at different levels have built bracket-style activities to add some variety to their courses and tap into student's enthusiasm for their home teams.
What happens when you move a simulated class activity into a more detailed simulation of a real-world situation? The linked guide to good practices for running simulations looks very useful for navigating that change.