My fav is Buzzlightyear Math love that game so much n had so much fun as a kid playing it never considered it an educational game even tho it said math and educational wish I never threw it out
Other than some minor errors, most historical RTS games are pretty educational, but the thing is that if the player doesn't want to pay attention to the details those games aren't really designed to "force" the facts into the players like other traditionally educational games…
The BBC micro computer was the education platform in the UK. Just about every school had them in the 80's. I have one setup which my kids use even today. The logo programming language on it is pretty cool. You could even get a robot that drew on paper for it.
When I was in 3rd grade our class had an Apple IIe with a math game called Math Rabbit. Maybe that's what Pat was thinking of when he mentioned Jazz Jackrabbit.
The "Talking Teacher" games were amazing at the time because it was the first time my computer ever spoke to me. Sure it sounded like Darth Vader sucked a bunch of helium and then started screaming through a broken bullhorn but it was cool.
There was one that was a paper airplane simulator that was awesome. You could customize your own paper airplane how you wanted then fly it through the school hallway to see how far it went. Based on your choices it did teach you something about aerodynamics.
I'm glad Ian said Treasure Mountain and Treasure Math Storm. Those were fun….they had almost borderline RPG elements in the sense that you had items that you accumulated for a certain task and had to "grind" enemies to get the amount of gold necessary to obtain the necessary items.
ah yes, i remember playing number munchers and lemonade stand on the apple IIe back in thrid grade. it was probably the best part of going to school back then.
A lot of older suggestions which I all agree with, but thought i'd chuck in a more recent game which would be Valiant Hearts. Thought it was really fun with a great story and tons of history to learn.
SimCity (the first one) is awesome, and in fact if I were a teacher and I had to teach strategy and planning, I'd have my students play SimCity for a couple weeks.
There was also a couple TLC games, like Treasure Mountain (like Ian mentioned), as well as Operation Neptune (not sure if that's the exact name; it was about solving math problems in a Metroid-style exploration game, but underwater in a submarine), and Maze Craze (again, not sure on the name, but it was a 3D maze game that had you opening boxes with keys based on a logic pattern you had to follow). I played the crap out of those games!
1:00 – Fuck yeah, number / word munchers was the shit back in the day. We had a computer in my 2nd grade class, I would do so much extra credit just to be able to sit in the back of the class and play Munchers for hours. Good times for sure.
I am personally partial to Frog Fractions as a good educational game. It really teaches you fractions as a great way to express rational numbers in a proportional relationship.
I actually did a school paper on education from video games. Yes, the most educational games are the fun ones, because it makes kids want to learn. But the game has to be a game that uses Math for example, instead of just being about Math. Kids are already learning a lot of Math and Reading from stuff like Pokemon and Fire Emblem.
It's too bad Oregon Trail was never an NES title. I'm sure it would have been pretty successful on that platform. Not to say it wasn't successful already. But still it would have been cool.
When I was a kid, I absolutely LOVED the Jump Start games. Jump Start 1st grade was awesome and taught me how to do basic maths, somewhat next level reading and problem solving. It was great.
Loved going to B.Dalton as a kid. It's what actually made me interested in reading books to be honest.
My fav is Buzzlightyear Math love that game so much n had so much fun as a kid playing it never considered it an educational game even tho it said math and educational wish I never threw it out
MUSEUM MADNESS
Oregin not Oregon Ian.
Other than some minor errors, most historical RTS games are pretty educational, but the thing is that if the player doesn't want to pay attention to the details those games aren't really designed to "force" the facts into the players like other traditionally educational games…
…wich in my opinion is much better.
Goat Simulator is the best educational game out there. ~97% of the knowledge in my brain came from Goat Simulator.
I played Midnight Rescue! at school all the time. It was from the same people who made Treasure Mountain! and had the same main character.
READER Rabbit, not JAZZ Jackrabbit, Pat.
Reader rabbit was so fun
Privates, a british action-platformer that teaches you Sex-Ed.
It's also F2P.
The BBC micro computer was the education platform in the UK. Just about every school had them in the 80's. I have one setup which my kids use even today. The logo programming language on it is pretty cool. You could even get a robot that drew on paper for it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Micro
number munchers was fun
When I was in 3rd grade our class had an Apple IIe with a math game called Math Rabbit. Maybe that's what Pat was thinking of when he mentioned Jazz Jackrabbit.
Glad they mentioned the Learning Company Games. I played those on the schools Mackintoshes all the time.
the Dr. Brain series of games is definitely where its at for me as far as fun edutainment games go.
Number Munchers was always my favorite. I enjoyed Oregon Trail quite a bit, but hated the randomness of it.
The "Talking Teacher" games were amazing at the time because it was the first time my computer ever spoke to me. Sure it sounded like Darth Vader sucked a bunch of helium and then started screaming through a broken bullhorn but it was cool.
Valiant Hearts comes to mind.
The Sim City series is at the top of my list
heard a sac town rapper say O trail and number munchers… was like what the fk? . thats OG…
Mavis Beacon typing.
Number munchers and Oregon trail on the apple Il were my favorites in the 80s
Lol. Math Blaster.
@Pat the NES Punk Cory In the House DS
There was one that was a paper airplane simulator that was awesome. You could customize your own paper airplane how you wanted then fly it through the school hallway to see how far it went. Based on your choices it did teach you something about aerodynamics.
Mario Teaches Typing!
I'm glad Ian said Treasure Mountain and Treasure Math Storm. Those were fun….they had almost borderline RPG elements in the sense that you had items that you accumulated for a certain task and had to "grind" enemies to get the amount of gold necessary to obtain the necessary items.
ah yes, i remember playing number munchers and lemonade stand on the apple IIe back in thrid grade. it was probably the best part of going to school back then.
All I learned from The Oregon Trail is that I might shoot three thousand pounds of meat, but I can only carry 200 back to the wagon.
A lot of older suggestions which I all agree with, but thought i'd chuck in a more recent game which would be Valiant Hearts. Thought it was really fun with a great story and tons of history to learn.
SimCity (the first one) is awesome, and in fact if I were a teacher and I had to teach strategy and planning, I'd have my students play SimCity for a couple weeks.
There was also a couple TLC games, like Treasure Mountain (like Ian mentioned), as well as Operation Neptune (not sure if that's the exact name; it was about solving math problems in a Metroid-style exploration game, but underwater in a submarine), and Maze Craze (again, not sure on the name, but it was a 3D maze game that had you opening boxes with keys based on a logic pattern you had to follow). I played the crap out of those games!
EDIT: I just looked them up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Neptune_(video_game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic_Quest_3D
Treasure Mountain Win 3.1 / DOS
1:00 – Fuck yeah, number / word munchers was the shit back in the day. We had a computer in my 2nd grade class, I would do so much extra credit just to be able to sit in the back of the class and play Munchers for hours. Good times for sure.
I am personally partial to Frog Fractions as a good educational game. It really teaches you fractions as a great way to express rational numbers in a proportional relationship.
Math Blaster!
Civilization was an awesome game, I always used the zulus and got them to space
Word Rescue will always be my favorite educational game. Played it so much at my grand parents house.
Mavis Beacon And math blaster bitch
Reader Rabbit and Cluefinders, anyone?
I loved The Learning Company games… especially Gizmos and Gadgets, Outnumbered, and Treasure Mountain.
I actually did a school paper on education from video games. Yes, the most educational games are the fun ones, because it makes kids want to learn. But the game has to be a game that uses Math for example, instead of just being about Math. Kids are already learning a lot of Math and Reading from stuff like Pokemon and Fire Emblem.
I thought the old KOEI strategy games for NES were semi educational yet a lot of fun
The lost mind of dr. Brain was one I played when I was younger. Had multiple difficulties as well which made all the puzzles much harder.
Treasure Mountain and Treasure Cove were awesome as fuck.
I wish Carmen San Diego would come back with something really good.
Thanks Ian! Ive been trying to remember the name of that classic game Treasure Mountain. I had so much fun playing that one all of those years ago.
I remember my school had Mario Teaches Typing and I was already obsessed with Mario at the time. I played that a lot.
Jump Start 3rd grade was the best.
It's too bad Oregon Trail was never an NES title. I'm sure it would have been pretty successful on that platform. Not to say it wasn't successful already. But still it would have been cool.
When I was a kid, I absolutely LOVED the Jump Start games. Jump Start 1st grade was awesome and taught me how to do basic maths, somewhat next level reading and problem solving. It was great.