The relationship between computer games and academic learning has been a topic for research and debate over decades. Here, we present an updated, theory-driven experimental design for assessing how specific skills that players train in commercial computer games may transfer and be subsequently applied to study-relevant tasks in a school context. As theoretical starting points, we posit that i) skills transfer from such seemingly disparate domains as gaming and studying can be better understood on the metacognitive level of self-regulation of one’s progress towards a goal, and ii) what drives learning in both domains can be understood in terms of their “core mechanics”, or means of interaction, towards this goal. Drawing from the evidence-based approaches described by Schwarz et al. (2016), we identified specific core mechanics for learning in the popular esport game League of Legends (LoL). Whilst a multiplicity of learning mechanisms are present in computer gaming, we focus on deliberate practice as an overarching concept for the driving interactions for learning that can be empirically investigated. We describe how students’ use of these learning mechanics can be assessed empirically by observing how students plan, perform and reflect upon a study task. Our hypothesis is that training these strategies from computer gaming can facilitate their application to studying, by means of skills transfer from one domain to the other. We present a tentative experimental design of how this can be assessed, and hence proper supports be developed, by observing how students engage in self-guided deliberate practice in the game (LoL) and in their academic studies, respectively.