#215: The Influences of Alternative Onboarding Approaches in a Puzzle Video Game on Learning, Problem-Solving, and Player Experience

Onboarding shapes how players learn, yet empirical comparisons of theoretically grounded approaches remain scarce. We tested three onboarding variations in Baba Is You—Tutorialized (direct instruction), Safe Problem-Solving (visually guided), and Increased Impasse (productive failure)—against the original game with 122 participants across three sessions. Despite being perceived as the least difficult, the Safe condition produced significantly lower mechanical understanding. Behavioral and experiential differences converged in subsequent sessions, carrying implications for tutorial design in game-based learning.