Learning by Playing: Student Strategies and Struggles in a Visualization Literacy Game

Students often struggle to interpret data visualizations, yet these skills are increasingly important nowadays. This paper explores how high-school students interact with an educational game designed to teach data visualization skills. Eighteen students (ages 13–17) played through four levels focused on different data visualization types: line chart, area chart, stacked area chart, and stream graph. By analyzing detailed gameplay logs and observational notes, we found that students performed well on familiar charts but struggled more with complex ones. The results highlight the value of clear feedback, gradual difficulty, and motivational features in helping students better understand visual data.