The purpose of was study is to examine the perceptions in higher education of failure and the use of gamification to address the fear of failure. The perceptions of students about failures and successes in learning through gamification were explored. The research design for the proposed study was a survey comprised of qualitative and quantitative questions. The survey explored how students in formal education view failure in games and in learning, how failure strategies are viewed in higher education lesson plans and if failure strategies can be used to promote learning in games. During the summer of 2014 and during the fall of 2014 both undergraduate and graduate students participated in the survey. Results of this research demonstrate that students in a higher education classroom feel that failure can be a positive learning strategy when followed by thoughtful feedback following the failure experience and when it is applied as part of a trial and error process.