This study aims to analyze the role of academic games in enhancing students' understanding of the Programming Fundamentals course at higher institutes and technical colleges in Libya. The research was conducted on a sample of 120 students selected from the College of Technical Sciences – Derna and the College of Engineering Technologies – Al-Quba. The study utilized data collection methods such as: questionnaires, practical experiments, comparing students' performance before and after the use of academic games. The results indicate a summary of key findings such as: improvement in problem-solving ability or increased theoretical understanding. This study highlights the potential of using academic games as an effective educational approach to enhance programming learning................. Keywords:.............. Play-based learning strategy, educational games, impact of technology in education, IplayCode, Xcode