The term "game-based learning" has emerged as a general name for the use of computer games in education. Despite early work showing rich inferential learning taking place as a result of gameplay, most game-based learning has been geared towards using a game as a host into which curricular content can be embedded. This approach can be problematic, however, because it too often builds upon the premise that learning is not fun and that games are, and that by introducing a game element, one can make learning fun. The authors argue that the processes involved in learning and play are often very similar, and the true potential of gaming in higher education may be realized in other ways. By allowing the learning process to become informed rather than supplemented by processes identified with successful gameplay, instructors can maintain consistency and coherence without relying on extrinsic motivational interventions. In contrast to game-based learning, "game-informed learning suggests that educational processes themselves should be informed by the experience of gameplay--a tenet similar to the principles of contemporary active learning approaches such as constructivism and problem-based learning (PBL). The principles of successful gameplay build on these established learning practices, suggesting that game-informed learning may offer a particularly valuable--and already influential--alternative to game-based learning in higher education. The authors present a descriptive sequence of gameplay and outline learning scenarios derived from course content in the undergraduate medical curriculum at the University of Edinburgh's College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. (Contains 3 figures.)