Games have gone a long way since they first appeared. At first, many people thought games were time-wasteful and that they couldn’t help people in any way.
However, games are everywhere now, and people play games both professionally and casually. They include games in work environments and even use them to learn new things. Yes, games can be an excellent learning tool since they engage and deliver information to players in a non-invasive manner.
In other words, you can combine having fun while learning something useful. Here are some of the best educational games you can try out.
Civilization VI
Civilization VI is one of the many games from the Civilization series. It’s one of the most known turn-based strategy games. Players choose a nation they want to lead and start with settlers and building cities at the start.
Over time they gather resources, develop infrastructure, progress with their nation, create economies, find allies, wage wars, trade, and lead their civilization. Players can win in different ways like creating the wealthiest nations, attracting the most tourists, advancing technologically, or conquering other countries.
This game can help players learn many interesting new things, but it requires plenty of time and effort. The mechanics can get complex, and players need the experience to learn different ways they can lead their civilization to victory.
If you look to spice up your experience on this game, you can always download Civilization VI mods. They can bring new maps and other valuable changes.
Eco
Eco is an online game that simulates a large ecosystem. The game’s primary goal is to prevent a large meteor crash on earth. Players have 30 days to prevent the fall, but they also cause pollution that damages the whole ecosystem.
Players must create a healthy balance while defending the planet. While playing, students learn about nature, plants, animals, climate, resources, collaboration, technology, the environment, and many other things.
The goal of the game is to provide a virtual space for the next generation of humans who will have to deal with complex issues that require a lot of understanding. At the same time, they work together with other players to build and plan actions, learning about teamwork and project management in the process.
You can get Eco on Steam or from their official website. Overall, it should be available to all users wishing to give it a go.
Minecraft: Education Edition
Minecraft Education is a particular version of the famous game designed to help players learn. Whether you’re interested in experimenting, creating new things, discovering, or learning history, you can do it in this game.
Minecraft: Education Edition includes different educational tools that teachers can use to control the world in which the students are learning. Minecraft is one of the most popular games out there for younger kids, and that’s why this version is excellent.
Learners can practice their problem-solving skills and develop abilities they can use. It’s possible to learn both collectively and independently. Minecraft: Education Edition has a code builder for learning programming. The teachers can collaborate and communicate.
If you experience issues accessing this game or any of its mods, you can always use workarounds. The easiest way is to use a Virtual Private Network, which lets you change your IP address and encrypt traffic. Then, a VPN for Windows can help bypass network blocks or filters that prevent you from playing.
The Universim
The Universim is an entertaining simulator game where players take the role of God. You oversee the whole planet and control how your civilization will develop. Players earn points by making the entire world believe in them (God), and the more people believe in you, the more successful you are.
The game has a lot of different game elements, and the world is populated by a humanoid race with butterflies, birds, foxes, deer, mammoths, plants, etc. These things change and affect each other, meaning that a society living in harmony can quickly get exposed to various disasters.
Even though the game isn’t meant to be that serious, players have many opportunities to learn. Players affect the development of the civilization and understand how different changes impact the environment, behavior, and how people perceive them.
Surviving Mars
In this game, players can learn about colonization and harsh environments on plants that don’t have an atmosphere. Teachers can use surviving Mars as homework; it has excellent replay values with different assignments and multiple sessions. And despite some of the pitfalls of the game, it is worth a try.
Players start with little resources and expand their colonies from there. Players build different structures, find resources, and establish a sizeable sustainable ecosystem. This game is better suited for younger players since it has repetitive gameplay.
Students can quickly learn how bases are built and what humans must do to survive in harsh environments. However, the game is also adding a mod system that teachers can use to create a variety of mysteries and events to teach players, i.e., their students, about different topics.
Conclusion
Games can be enjoyable to play and help you acquire valuable knowledge you can later use in life. Try out all these fun games we have talked about today and see which one you like best. They are affordable, and you can even play some of them for free.