Educational Games?

For this entry, I'm going to hit on the topic of "educational" games. I don't just mean those math and vocabulary games! (Although, let's admit, we all wanted to find Carmen Sandiego.) When I was child, I had a house rule that I had to show that a game was educational in order to play it. I was well acquainted with those math games... but I became creative. For anyone on the lookout for games to challenge the mind, here are some that I came up with as a kid, and you can probably find similar today.

(Keep in mind that I'm a child of the 90s, so most games I discuss in this entry are outdated.)

Oregon Trail (elementary school)

Honestly, many of you might scoff. After all, in this game you just need to get to the West Coast and you don't really deviate from the path that often. However, for young children, this can be an interesting history lesson and help children to plan ahead. I remember reading about all the landmarks in the game, and after playing a few times, you start to learn about the choices you should make at the beginning. Do I want to be an adventurer? How much salt should I buy? Those small choices gave me an impression of how disease was prevented, how to preserve food, etc.

The "fun" part? I liked going hunting, because target games were popular then. (Talk about shooting games at their most basic form.)

Don't have the 90s edition but want to play? You can get this game for your smartphone, but from what I've heard and seen, the old 90s version is still the best! (The iPhone version is very cartoony and if you download the full game, it takes up quite a bit of space.)

Age of Empires II (junior high school)

More history! I haven't tried AOE III, which is available on Steam, because I heard down the grapevine that it wasn't as good as AOE II. Additionally, I replaced it over the years with Starcraft 2 (but that will be discussed in a different section).

When I first got this game in middle school, I had to play the campaign for the history section. As long as you don't use cheat codes, it remained pretty true to history and lore. I learned about Joan of Arc, the Aztecs, etc. As for the gameplay itself, it challenges kids to use strategy and tactics. While other games have bypassed the complexity of Age of Empires, one thing that I enjoyed about the game was choosing the formation of the units. This adds another layer of strategy into the game that made it fun, yet easy enough for children to play.

Sims games (high school)

This was a stretch for the educational part, and in the end a compromise with my parents since I was in high school. I made the argument that it teaches budgeting and multitasking. Once again, a feasible argument if no cheat codes are used. I do know some people who have difficulty with the game, and I think the struggling of the beginning of the game when you have no Simoleons (aka Sim Cash) is the fun part.

Funnily enough, in the Sims 2 University expansion pack -- I found it was really time consuming to have an awesome relationship and straight As! My Sim complained at me all the time because she needed sleep. I laughed at that realization in the game, because I'm sure this is real life for a lot of people, and certainly was my own.

Additionally, I know a lot of people who like to use this game simply for the building/design aspects of the game. Sims 3 especially stepped up the choices you can make in landscaping and house design -- a nice game for future architects.

Starcraft series

This was NOT a game I tried to convince my parents to let me play when I was younger, because I honestly saw my guy friends obsess over it and I was too involved with extracurriculars, grades, and my Sims (haha) to want to play. Honestly though, I was all about Age of Empires, and had no idea of the similarities in gameplay.

I was forced by my now-boyfriend to try it when we first started hanging out, and I played Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty. Loved it! This is probably a game that the two of us will both review soon since the next expansion is coming out and we're trying the beta. However, if you're skeptical over the educational aspects of this game, I'm just going to flash you this Scientific American article I came across in college:

Scientific American: How a computer game is reinventing the science of expertise

This article mentioned how chess playing used to be THE game to study for cognitive science. However, the author says how Starcraft 2 may overtake that throne. Personally, I think I would have enjoyed this alternative to chess as a child. There definitely is a learning curve in the game, and it was like AOE on steroids for me. It was challenging, it made me think, it made me adapt. What more could you want in a game for educational purposes?

Minecraft 

This is a good team-oriented game, and it can be incredibly fun for creative people. The items made can be deduced if you think about it long enough on your own, and pretty much anything you want to build can be built. You could even build a working clock or a computer in this game. Honestly, I've taken several circuits classes and I have to use some of that knowledge to try to figure out some of my friends' more complicated layouts.

This game is what you make of it, honestly. However, my boyfriend came across this website that suggests that this game can be used in the classroom:

Hopefully, people will forgive that I didn't go into detail in each game. I just wanted to give a few choices that could substitute the very transparent learning games (i.e. Solve this equation before you can open the door!!!). I'm not saying those games are obsolete. They are very good learning tools, but if you want to a fun game that's also education, these were my own picks growing up.