+Use of real world problems - problems are relevant and contextual. It is in the process of struggling with actual problems that students learn content and critical thinking skills.
+Reliance on problems to drive the curriculum - the problems do not test skills; they assist in development of the skills themselves.
+The problems are truly structured - there is not meant to be one solution, and as new information is gathered in a reiterative process, perception of the problem, and thus the solution, changes.
+PBL is learner-centered; learners are progressively given more responsibility for their education and become increasingly independent of the teacher for their education.
+PBL produces independent, life-long learners - students continue to learn on their own in life and in their careers.
At the other hand:
" An essential feature of any game is conflict between two or more players resulting in a win for some and a loss for others. Additionally, games have other characteristics which make them playable. There is a way to start the game. There are defined choices players can make for any situation that can arise in the game. During each move, single players are forced to make choices or the choices are assigned by random devices (such as dice). Finally, the game ends after a set number of moves and a winner is declared. Obviously, games such as chess or checkers have these characteristics, but other situations such as military battles or animal behavior also exhibit similar traits.

During any game, players make choices based on the information available. Games are therefore classified by the type of information that players have available when making choices. A game such as checkers or chess is called a "game of perfect information." In these games, each player makes choices with the full knowledge of every move made previously during the game, whether by herself or her opponent. Also, for these games there theoretically exists one optimal pure strategy for each player which guarantees the best outcome regardless of the strategy employed by the opponent. A game like poker is a "game of imperfect knowledge" because players make their decisions without knowing which cards are left in the deck. The best play in these types of games relies upon a probabilistic strategy and, as such, the outcome can not be guaranteed.

Read more: Game Theory - Characteristics Of Games - Players, Choices, Strategy, and Information - JRank Articles http://science.jrank.org/pages/2909/Game-Theory-Characteristics-games.html#ixzz5SqmZ9UE0