Work

Retention Royale: a Gamified Territory-Conquest Add-on for Anki to Enhance Engagement with Spaced Repetition

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Anki is widely used by medical students, yet sustaining motivation remains challenging amid high burnout rates. Retention Royale is a free, open-source Anki add-on that gamifies flashcard review to promote student learning through territory conquest, rewarding study performance with in-game currency. The add-on is available on AnkiWeb (Code: 311670562).

Source: Medical Science Educator

DOI: 10.1007/s40670-026-02721-8

Authors: Tobias Whitford, Chase Goldberg, Syed Shehroz Hussain, Mill Etienne

Institution: New York Medical College

Language: English

Topic: Educational Games and Gamification

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,290