When both students and teachers are disengaged, there is an impact at the class level and on the larger educational community. Thus, examining experiential methods that spark professor interest and passion as well as engage students is beneficial for faculty development, student learning, and institutional improvement. This thematic analysis studies the implementation and use of games in higher education courses. In this study, I conducted fifteen interviews with a diverse group of faculty members with experience using games in their courses. The purpose of the interviews was to gather data on best practices, benefits, challenges, and outcomes of using games in courses from the perspectives of professors experienced in this area. The data was analyzed using the thematic analysis procedure described by Braun and Clarke (2006) to identify and define themes that emerged from the collection of interviews. The findings demonstrate benefits of use related to teacher practices and student engagement, the influence on course management, and the challenges of the implementation process. The results show outcomes referring to the level of ease, flexibility, or difficulty during implementation, amount of time and consumption in course development and management, connection between participatory roles and emotional empowerment, and the need for relatable content and reflection in experiential learning. The study concludes with recommendations pertaining to the value games have in transferring knowledge and providing deeper learning and the lasting benefits to the student, teacher, and institution. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]