Si buscamos la definición de Serious Games en la Wikipedia, encontramos el siguiente texto:

“The classification of Serious Games is something that is yet to solidify, there are however a number of terms in reasonably common use for inclusion here.

• Advergames
• Edutainment
• Games-Based Learning – These games have defined learning outcomes. Generally they are designed in order to balance the subject matter with the gameplay and the ability of the player to retain and apply said subject matter to the real world.^[1]
• Edumarket Games – When a serious game combines several aspects (such as advergaming and edutainment aspects or persuasive and news aspects), the application is an Edumarket game. For example, Food-Force combines news, persuasive and edutainment goals.
• News Games – Journalistic games that report on recent events or deliver an editorial comment. Examples include September 12th ^[2]
• Simulations or Simulation Games
• Persuasive Games – these games are used as persuasion technology
• Organizational-dynamic games
• Games for Health, such as games for medical training, games for health education, games for psychological therapy, or games for cognitive or psysical rehabilitation uses.
• Art Games – games used to express artistic ideas or art produced through the medium of video games”

Para nosotros, la clasificación tendría más sentido si añadiésemos niveles de clasificación. Seguramente podemos reducir a 2 grandes tipos de juegos: los Advergames y los Edutainment. El resto, pueden ser subclases de estos dos principales. De hecho, un mismo juego podría tener componentes de las diferentes partes;  una simulación puede ser publicitaria, con una finalidad educativa y relacionada con una noticia.

Para completar la clasificación, añadiría una categoría nueva, seguramente  vinculada con los Persuasive Games, denominada Subergames (juegos serios que buscan la denuncia de una acción comercial o política), como McDonald’s videogame.