en آموزش Education پژوهشي اصیل Orginal Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:2;"><b><span style="color:black">Background & Objective:</span></b><span style="color:black"> Regarding the urgent needs of students for an efficient teaching methodology, it is necessary to use self-directed and self-centered teaching methods that encourage the power of reasoning and judgment. This study aimed to investigate the effect of using the game-based Appendectomy Surgical Simulation software on the academic achievement of undergraduate operating room students in Khomein, Iran.</span><br> <b><span style="color:black">Materials & Methods:</span></b><span style="color:black"> This quasi-experimental study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty undergraduate operating room students who were in the second semester of the first year of the operating room undergraduate program participated in this quasi-experimental single-blind study. The participants were assigned randomly to the control and intervention groups after their consent was obtained. Following the use of the game-based Appendectomy Surgical Simulation software for the intervention group and lecture-based classes on a specific academic learning software for the control group, the data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire concerning academic achievement, whose validity and reliability were approved. The data were then analyzed using descriptive and analytical tests in IBM SPSS (version 22) at a significance level of P<0.05.</span><br> <b><span style="color:black">Results:</span></b><span style="color:black"> The average score of academic achievement was significantly higher in the intervention group (58.35&plusmn;2.38) than in the control group (35.65&plusmn;4.14) (P<0.05).</span><br> <b><span style="color:black">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="color:black"> Using the game-based Appendectomy Surgical Simulation software has been effective in improving the academic achievement of students during the COVID-19 pandemic and afterward. Therefore, it can be used in academic and educational programs.</span></span></span></span></div> academic achievement, COVID-19, gamification, medical education, operating room, simulation 27 33 http://edujournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-12-1739-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Sara Bagheri bagherisep1993@gmail.com 5300319475328460030272 5300319475328460030272 No Department of Medical Education, School of Medical Education and Learning Technologies, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Senthilkumar Jagatheesan adhityaresearch@hotmail.com 5300319475328460030273 5300319475328460030273 No Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu, India. Mahdi Ghanati mahdi.ghanaty77@Gmail.com 5300319475328460030274 5300319475328460030274 No Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran. Amin Sedigh Aminsedigh2009@gmail.com 5300319475328460030275 5300319475328460030275 Yes Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran.