Rolling the d20 in Chemistry Class: Why “Chemistry and Chaos” Matters in My Teaching

As a high school chemistry teacher, I am always searching for ways to move beyond “another worksheet” or “another set of past-paper questions.” When I encountered Chemistry and Chaos: A Role-Playing Game for Teaching Chemistry by James D. Mendez (2023), along with the accompanying AACT webinar materials (Mendez, 2025), I realised that this was more than a novelty. It offered a complete reimagining of what a review lesson—and even an entire unit—can feel like.

Chemistry Knowledge as the Students’ Superpower

In Chemistry and Chaos, students do not defeat monsters with swords or magic. Instead, they use chemistry content to solve problems: balancing equations to open a door, applying thermochemistry to decide how to safely “burn” a substance, or using gas laws to deploy a gas in just the right amount (Mendez, 2023, 2025). The traditional role-playing framework is still present—character sheets, attributes, skill checks, and a narrative arc—but progress depends on chemical reasoning rather than arbitrary dice rolls.

This design aligns strongly with what I want my students to experience. Instead of asking, “Will this be on the test?” they are pushed to ask, “How can my understanding of chemistry help us survive this situation?” The game positions conceptual and quantitative knowledge as a genuine tool set, not a collection of disconnected procedures (Mendez, 2023).

Seeing Ourselves in the Game

One small but meaningful detail in the materials is the inclusion of a “High School Chemistry Teacher” character card among the pre-generated roles (Mendez, 2025). Students can choose to play as an analytical chemist, an organic chemist, or even a secondary chemistry teacher whose “special skills” emphasise safety and resourcefulness.

To me, this matters for two reasons. First, it provides a subtle form of career exploration by highlighting that chemistry expertise exists in many forms, including teaching. Second, it affirms that classroom teaching itself is a complex, chemistry-rich profession, not merely a stepping stone to “real science.” When students see “my job” represented as a character class, it opens the door to conversations about pathways into science and education.

Structured Chaos: A Narrative Built on Solid Content

What appeals to me most is the balance between playful narrative and serious content. The Chemistry and Chaos scenarios, including “Zombie Invasion” and “Rat Attack,” are not content-light diversions. They are carefully built around core topics: balancing chemical equations, naming, thermochemistry, molecular geometry, polarity, gas laws, and stoichiometry (Mendez, 2023, 2025).

From a curriculum perspective, the activity functions as a scaffolded review:

• The storyline structures the lesson into encounters.

• Each encounter foregrounds one or two specific skills (e.g., simple balancing first, then more complex redox equations).

• The instructor can scale difficulty and adjust questions without breaking the narrative frame.

Mendez (2025) explicitly encourages instructors to be flexible: nudging dice results if needed, modifying question sets, and allowing students to propose creative, chemistry-based solutions. This flexibility is vital for high school classrooms where student readiness levels can vary widely. The game becomes a robust framework rather than a rigid script.

Engagement That Goes Beyond “Fun for Its Own Sake”

Many classroom “games” are enjoyable but pedagogically shallow. What reassures me about Chemistry and Chaos is the way it is grounded in both student feedback and the broader literature on game-based learning. Students reported that the activity was fun, that they learned something while playing, and that they would be willing to play another scenario (Mendez, 2023). These self-reports are consistent with research indicating that well-designed games can increase motivation, engagement, and confidence in chemistry (Byusa et al., 2022, as cited in Mendez, 2023).

Importantly, Mendez (2023) notes that the game is not confined to chemistry content benefits alone. It also transforms the affective climate of the class. Instead of facing a “sea of deadpan stares,” the instructor can perform as a shambling zombie or a villain riding a giant mutant rat. Even without theatrical flair, the inherently ridiculous nature of the scenario breaks down anxiety and invites participation.

As a school-based teacher, this resonates deeply with my own experience: when students feel psychologically safe, they are far more willing to take intellectual risks, attempt challenging problems, and persist through difficulty.

How I Envision Using “Chemistry and Chaos” With My Students

Reading the article and reviewing the webinar slides prompted several concrete ideas for my own practice:

1. Exam-Style Review Campaigns

   Instead of a single “review lesson,” I could structure a short narrative campaign over several periods. Each session would correspond to an encounter focusing on a specific topic—for example, balancing equations and simple stoichiometry early on, followed by thermochemistry or gas laws later (Mendez, 2025).

2. Differentiated, Mixed-Ability Collaboration

   The dice-plus-attributes system allows natural differentiation: students with stronger numeracy might tackle more complex quantitative problems, while others work on conceptual or simpler numerical versions of the same underlying task. Everyone remains in the same narrative world and contributes to the group’s success.

3. Student-Designed Mini-Scenarios

   For enrichment, students could design micro-encounters focused on particular concepts such as limiting reactants or percent yield. They would choose the context, write a short narrative, and construct two or three problems that fit. This shifts them from being passive players to co-designers of learning experiences.

4. Extracurricular and Outreach Possibilities

   I can easily imagine using a shortened version of the game during a science evening, club meeting, or outreach event. It provides a low-stakes way for younger students or families to see that chemistry can be playful, story-driven, and collaborative.

Why This Activity Matters to Me Beyond a Single Lesson

Ultimately, Chemistry and Chaos aligns with the classroom culture I want to build:

• Students collaborate to solve problems rather than working in isolation.

• Errors become part of the story rather than proof that someone is “bad at chemistry.”

• Conceptual and procedural knowledge is repeatedly applied in context, not just rehearsed in the abstract.

• Humour, creativity, and rigour coexist in the same space.

For me, the most powerful idea is that as teachers we are not only delivering content: we are designing the “world” in which students experience chemistry. Mendez’s work (2023, 2025) offers a compelling example of how that world can be constructed—one where a balanced equation is not just the correct answer on a test, but the key to escaping a locked room full of zombies.

Adapting elements of this game into my own stoichiometry and balancing unit feels like a natural next step. It challenges me to think more deliberately about narrative, choice, and role-play as serious tools for teaching foundational chemical ideas.

References (APA Style)

Byusa, E., Kampire, E., & Mwesigye, A. R. (2022). Game-based learning approach on students’ motivation and understanding of chemistry concepts: A systematic review of literature. Heliyon, 8, e09541.

Mendez, J. D. (2023). Chemistry and chaos: A role-playing game for teaching chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 100(6), 2442–2445. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01235

Mendez, J. D. (2025, November 20). Chemistry and chaos: A role-playing game for learning chemistry [Webinar slides]. American Association of Chemistry Teachers.