In today's society 'gaming' covers various genres and types, including the board game and electronic gaming market. As far as educational games go, the electronic market and particularly video game market is probably more filled with educational titles than one might imagine. This article will look at various types of educational games over different formats. An educational game is by definition a game that is designed to teach or develop a skill or understanding. We'll take a brief look at some of the more popular titles that fall into the category of educational games.
Brain Age - Nintendo DS
You might not immediately think of the Nintendo DS as an educational device, but it can be. In Japan the DS is utilized is many ways, including electronic books, tour guide player, foreign language training and more. Amongst the most popular educational titles in Japan and the West is 'Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!'. It features a great variety of puzzles and tests that will get your brain whirring. It keeps track of how well you're doing and is usable by almost any age group (other than the very young). Other companies took up the Brain Age flag and ran with it, there are loads of puzzle and brain training titles available on the Nintendo DS, so don't be fooled into thinking it's just a kids gaming toy.
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree - Nintendo Wii
The Big Brain Academy title first appeared on the Nintendo DS and in some ways was similar to Brain Age, with a sheen of 'kid friendly' attached. The Wii version was released mid 2007 in most regions and featured yet more 'edutainment'. Players play a series of mini-games divided into categories. The categories include Identification, Memory, Visualization, Math and Analytical. As with Brain Age players strengths and weaknesses are recorded (in the Student Record Book) and can even be shared with other Wii users.
Educational Video Game - Honorable Mentions
Recent research actually suggested that many forms of video games 'stimulate learning' regardless of whether it's a specified educational title or not. Some of the most popular specified educational video games are those we covered in detail (Brain Age and Academy), but we thought we'd cover electronic learning also. Here are some honorable mentions:
Trivia Titles
Okay so not educational per se, but these sorts of games (like Trivial Pursuit in all its incarnations) can expand the mind with general knowledge information that other board games may not. The great thing about Trivia games is that they are generally available for almost all age groups and areas of interest. This means there isn't the same stigma attached to them as to an 'educational game' like say BEDMAS or other obvious training games.
Honorable Mentions - Board Games
As previously mentioned there is Trivial Pursuit, but there are loads of other quasi educational board games available, some of the more prevalent ones include:
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