<![CDATA[General Background: Reading proficiency constitutes a complex cognitive process and a critical challenge for students learning English worldwide. Specific Background: Mastering story structures proves particularly demanding due to the required ability to decode unfamiliar vocabulary, deduce implicit meanings, and recognize sequential plot events. Knowledge Gap: Although interactive quiz platforms demonstrate broad pedagogical utility, empirical evaluations specifically investigating their application on tenth-grade literary mastery within Indonesian contexts remain remarkably scarce. Aims: This pre-experimental research investigates the application of digital game-based instruction on the reading proficiency of tenth-grade learners at a public senior high school in Sidoarjo. Results: Utilizing a one-group pretest-posttest design with 36 participants, statistical analysis via the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test revealed a significant mean score progression from 55.69 to 78.11, accompanied by a large practical effect size of 0.805. Novelty: The intervention distinctly operationalizes competitive game mechanics as a direct reading instruction technique, transforming passive story decoding into a highly interactive, feedback-driven cognitive exercise. Implications: Integrating this digital pedagogical framework provides educators with a practical strategy to mitigate reading anxiety and actively engage students during complex literary analyses. Highlights: Digital quiz platforms significantly increase mean assessment scores regarding narrative text comprehension among high school learners. Game-based instructional interventions successfully facilitate active learner engagement and immediate corrective feedback during reading activities. Non-parametric statistical analysis confirms a large practical effect size associated with interactive vocabulary and inference exercises. Keywords: Game Based Learning, Reading Proficiency, Literary Analysis, Digital Pedagogy, Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test]]>
