Serious games offer a promising technology for training complex skills. But there are few implementation guidelines and even fewer empirical studies that unequivocally demonstrate a benefit of game-based training over conventional alternatives. To address the first issue, we developed a structured query framework that links elements of game design (e.g., feedback, challenge, fantasy) to training objectives. The framework is a synthesis of serious game, multimedia instruction, cognitive psychology, and instructional design literatures. This tool helps instructors incorporate gaming elements into their curriculum to improve the motivation, learning, and performance of key cognitive, psychomotor, and problem-solving skills. This framework also specifies the types of gaming environments that work best for each skill. To address the second issue, we applied the framework to develop a serious game to train an operational task: programming an aircraft's flight management system (FMS). A training needs analysis revealed the FMS to be a good candidate for "gaming up" since its 1970's interface and opaque logic are unfamiliar to many of today's pilot trainees, where the intrinsic motivation to practice component skills is low. Yet learning to program the device quickly and accurately -- and being able to recognize and correct errors -- requires repeated practice in varied contexts. The training effectiveness of the FMS game is being evaluated using students from Arizona State University's flight training program and co-located Mesa Airlines' new-hires as subjects. A randomized design is used where half the students receive gamed FMS instruction and half conventional computer based training. A transfer of training task criterion test is then given using a physical replica of the FMS device, where comparisons of relative performance index game impact. The paper will provide graphic examples of the framework and quantitative results of the evaluation.