As the gaming industry widens, the variety of its products with increasingly creative titles forms a new digital entertainment genre. This genre is marked not only for its present fun factor but also for how you may come out of the experience knowing more than when you started it. Of course, we’re talking about the educational genre, which entails a broad range of titles, from the acclaimed Minecraft to number-based games like Magic Stone.
Educational Games Definition
If you want to know what educational games are, we will explain what the term encompasses. Educational games are either explicitly designed for educational purposes or whose educational value is either “incidental or secondary.” There are various educational games benefits that make them a worthwhile pursuit. One can play educational games online and offline, while many available titles promise to both fascinate and educate players in a fun and enjoyable manner.
Are you ready for some educational games ideas? To give this underappreciated genre of video games its well-deserved time in the spotlight, here are the best educational games for adults in 2020.
Factorio
Produced and distributed by the British developer Wube Software LTD, Factorio has you playing in the role of an engineer stranded on a hostile planet. Your goal is simple: to scavenge the local natural resources to build a ship that can get you out of there before the inhabitants can make a snack out of you. On the other hand, reaching this objective can be quite a challenge, and escaping will demand tons of imagination, ingenuity, and concrete.
In the process, you will learn plenty of organizational skills as you plan out continent-spanning assembly lines. There is also an obvious lesson to be learned about the consequences of unchecked pollution and its implications. This is a great example of how educational games help students learn because Factorio manages to weave lessons with regards to the environment and ecosystem preservation in its gameplay.
Kerbal Space Program
A game developer Squad might have made the silliest yet most impressively accurate physics simulator when creating the Kerbal Space program, a widely beloved title in the educational game’s genre. You are placed as the head of a space program operated by a planet inhabited by little green beings who want nothing more than to reach the “Mun.” To help them, you’ll have to develop and test your rocket designs that need to obey fundamental physics principles.
The game is a full plate for those eager to learn more about the knowledge and technology that got a man on the Moon. Exemplifying the educational games learning experience, the Kerbal Space Program is a great choice for anyone wishing to delve deeper into astronomy physics concepts.
Portal 2 may be one of the most acclaimed titles for various reasons, ranging from its story to ground-breaking gameplay and concept. However, the thing that makes it one of the best educational games out there is how it uses its highly accurate simulated engine to make you stretch your mental muscles.
Portal 2 – Education Game
At its heart, the Portal educational games franchise is all about puzzles that have you apply fundamental scientific principles to solve; things like gravity, weight, momentum, friction all play a part. Combine that with the need to think logically and methodically, and you have an experience that will put your mind to the test.
Civilization 6
The sixth installment in the acclaimed civilization series is a treasure trove of historical and cultural trivia where you always come out learning something new. You play as one of many historical figures, leading your empire from the dawn of humanity to the space age, building your culture, military, and economy. Along the way, you will also recruit artists, musicians, and writers, which is an excellent way of learning new names to expand your cultural arsenal. Overall, Civilization 6 is extremely addictive; playing it after-hours, you will always come out knowing more than when you first sat down.
TIS-100
The open-ended coding puzzle game by Zachtronics might not be your cup of tea at first sight, but once you get into it, you find yourself unwilling to get out. This game has you fixing corrupted code lines from a titular supercomputer to unlock its memory, holding dark secrets from you. TIS-100 perfectly applies the concept that the better way to become good at something is through constant practice, and it does so masterfully.
If you are starting to learn code and want to understand better what the mindset and workflow of a software developer are like, this product is for you. The interface can be quite intimidating at first, but this only contributes to the feeling of accomplishment you get from mastering it and its mechanics.
Games are a fantastic way to learn because they have played more than the passive listener role of a classical educational experience, making you more engaged and focused. By interacting with the object of your learning, you withhold information much easier and better grasp the concepts you are trying to imprint into your brain. This also dramatically helps break the stigma that video games are just “dumb fun” that add nothing to you as a person.
Having read this article, do you have any educational games questions? Perhaps you’re looking for advice on the best educational games computer? Let us know what you think in the comments, and we’ll gladly answer all your questions!
About the Author
Ellen Royce is a writer, blogger, and gamer. Like many others, she thought games make people dull, but several years ago, everything changed when she learned more about the world of online gaming. She is writing about it to spread information about all the significant advantages games bring.
