Given their complexity there is no overall design of simulation games that is valid for every circumstance. Nevertheless, despite the variations in learning situations, types of games and divers possible explorations, it is still possible to detect an architecture on which to base the design process or, as some authors prefer to express it, a grammar for the design of simulation games (Duke, 2007) and we would add a syntax of simulation games.
As can be seen from a study of the literature, many authors have identified structural elements and design phases; yet little attention has been paid to the process generated in the design and to its functions in relation to learners and contexts.