If we think about games, we tend to think of leisure activities that are mostly seen as a waste of time for those who are engaged in them, and to play games during classes might seem unthinkable, however, the concept of “gamification” is currently well known, and it consists on the use of games in classes for teaching purposes. In this context, this study needed to understand that playing is considered by many professionals as a valuable learning experience, as Vygotsky clearly stated when reflecting on the relationship between learning and playing. Throughout this research, we reviewed what a game is, in terms of its characteristics, exploring the concept of serious games, so that later on we could discuss the role of games in the classroom, the effectiveness of using games for teaching purposes, and the attitude of teachers and students towards such activities. Finally, through the use of focus groups with some of the participants, we developed a model which could serve as a guide for teachers on to how to apply gamification correctly during the different stages of a class, in terms of recognizing which activities could be considered as games, and determining the effectiveness and usefulness of such activities, negotiating and designing collectively how often teachers should use games, and whether or not it was possible to use games as a mean of assessment