{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T20:56:19Z","timestamp":1792788979528,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790294400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Union \u2013 NextGenerationEU","award":["INTAFAM00037"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["INTAFAM00037"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/019w4f821","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"PNRR"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>In recent years, serious games have gained increasing attention as effective tools for supporting learning and assessing emerging cognitive skills in early educational settings. Within this perspective, the present study introduces Starlex, a serious game designed to screen pre-literacy skills in children aged 5\u20137\u202fyears, a critical stage for the development of foundational reading and writing abilities. Developed within a PNRR-funded project, the game comprises four mini-games aimed at assessing key predictors of reading acquisition, including visual discrimination and working memory. Following an initial phase of playability and usability testing, Starlex was administered to a pilot sample of 84 children in early education contexts. Game-based performance was compared with standardized assessments targeting the same cognitive domains. Findings indicate that Starlex provides a promising and engaging approach to the early identification of learning-related difficulties, showing good alignment with traditional measures, as well as satisfactory levels of usability and acceptance among young learners. While further refinements are needed to enhance the robustness of the tool, its replicability emerges as a key feature, supporting sustained engagement and enabling continuous observation of children\u2019s performance over time. Overall, this study highlights the potential of serious games as complementary tools for formative assessment and early screening within educational environments, contributing to more accessible and child-friendly evaluation practices.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1872307","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T13:20:26Z","timestamp":1790342426000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dyslexia screening? As easy as a game. The Starlex project: evidence from an Italian pilot study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Alessandra","family":"Micalizzi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"SAE Institute of Milan","place":["Milan, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sara","family":"Zaccaria","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hogrefe Editore","place":["Florence, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Serious Games: The Art and Science of Games that Simulate Life in Industry, Government and Education","author":"Apt","year":"1970"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.3102\/0034654323116779","article-title":"The effect of digital game-based learning interventions on cognitive, metacognitive, and affective-motivational learning outcomes in school: a meta-analysis","volume":"94","author":"Barz","year":"2024","journal-title":"Rev. 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