As long as there have been video games, there have been educational video games for kids. From Oregon Trail to Word Rescue to Math Blaster, kids have been able to learn things while playing games for years. However, the pickings have been more slim for adults, who have had to choose between somewhat gamified learning (like Brain Age) and more traditional games with vague educational elements (like the historical elements in Civilization, or games with some logic puzzles in them).
However, here in 2019, the landscape has changed. Whether you want to learn about history, math, or coding, there are educational video games aimed at you. Some of the best educational video games for adults are:
Assassin’s Creed (Origins or Odyssey) Discovery Tour
In Assassin’s Creed: Origins and its follow-up Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Ubisoft attempted to make massive worlds recreating ancient Egypt and ancient Greece, respectively. Now, Ubisoft has always had an interest in (relatively) faithful historical depictions, as evidenced by its portrayal of the Notre Dame cathedral in Assassin’s Creed Unity being so accurate that some have suggested that the work that went into it might aid rebuilding efforts. However, they have taken it a step further with Origins and Odyssey with the release of the discovery tours.
With the Discovery Tours, Ubisoft has turn Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Origins into living museums of Greece and Egypt, respectively, that can be explored without having to worry about combat or anything. For adults who grew up playing video games, interacting with history in these Discovery Tours might be more engaging than looking through a book, and they are more accessible than having to physically visit museums. The Assassin’s Creed: Origins Discovery Tour of Egypt is $19.99, as is the Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey Discovery Tour of Greece, and you can buy them together for no discount (in fact, it costs an extra penny for some reason) at $39.99. You can also access them for free if you already have the games, so if you buy Odyssey or Origins it will come with the full game and Discovery Tour. In addition, they are free for subscribers to UPlay+.
TIS-100
If you want to learn about or strengthen your coding, TIS-100 is the game for you. In TIS-100, you play a programmer who has to deal with a corrupted program by working with mock assembly language. It even includes a PDF of a manual of the machine you are working with in-game in order to make you feel like you’re really troubleshooting the computer. In other words, TIS-100 is basically a massive puzzle game where the puzzles involve programming.
Now, to be clear, you won’t be working with a real language in TIS-100, so if you want to learn a specific language you should look for a game that can help you with that specific language. However, TIS-100 will help you think more like a coder, and should help sharpen your problem-solving skills when it comes to programming. TIS-100 is only $6.99 on Steam, so if you want to play a game that will help you think like a programmer, go ahead and give it a try.
Variant: Limits
Finally, Variant: Limits is a game that teaches you pre-calculus and calculus. Now, a lot of people learn pre-calculus and calculus in high school and college, but there are plenty of adults who don’t know calculus and are probably interested in learning some in a non-intimidating way. In other words, although this game is marketed toward educational settings for use with teenagers and young adults, anyone can use it to learn Calculus in a more engaging environment.
Right now, you can play “Game 1” of Variant: Limits for $30.00, and you can also request a free demo on the game’s website. However, early adopters can pay $100 for the currently available game as well as 3 other games which are supposed to ship Fall 2020. I personally would hold off on the early adopter’s pack until more information is available about the other three games.
Bonus: Triseum (the company behind Variant: Limits) also has a line of games called ARTé that are kind of like the Assassin’s Creed Discovery Tours and in which you can explore the Italian Renaissance, ancient Egypt, and 19th century Paris for $25 each.
Games For Older Adolescents That Adults Can Play
I should also mention that there are other games aimed at older adolescents that can also work for adults, like CodeCombat, where you can learn about JavaScript while playing an online browser game. Ubisoft also just released a Rabbids spinoff where you can learn coding concepts. If you’re willing to deal with games that come off as slightly condescending because they’re aimed at a younger audience, there are plenty of other great games you should look into without shame. Remember what Confucius supposedly said:
The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.
Happy gaming and happy learning!
