This paper presents a methodology to transpose a physical game into digital and an application to a case study. The case study applied the methodology to teaching and learning for a Data Structures course. The data structures studied involved concepts of stacks, queues, and linked lists.One of the main goals of this research is to confirm that digitalization helps working-class students to learn even having less time to study and experiment. We chose two different private university courses in computer science and computer engineering to take part in this research. The students developed a digital version of a traditional card game. The research bolsters the idea of first understanding the actual game concepts by analyzing and manipulating a physical card game. Using these concepts, students apply their results to examine the data structures perceived in the card game. Later, students develop the same card game using a conventional algorithm. Afterward, the development takes place in the virtual environment, using the Java programming language - we inherited the choice for Java from top hierarchies. We developed the method for transposing the physical game to a digital version before applying this case study. Using this method, students could work and understand each of the data structures concepts. In the end, each student extrapolated its applicability, trying to solve society's problems. As a bonus, students also researched strategies for logical reasoning and critical thinking. Both are necessary for card game resolution and personal and professional development. The results presented show that the students who learned data structures developing this method were able to apply the concepts in the course's evaluations, in their work, in their homes, in their daily lives, and their personal lives. Some students' self-motivation led them to change their social position such that they found themselves improving their quality of life and those around them.