Remember Educational Video Games? Can They Be Mainstream Now?

Like many ‘hardcore’ gamers, I’ve considered myself a gamer since birth. My first ever game was Mortal Kombat on the original Game Boy. I was a toddler when I snuck into my brother’s room as he slept to pick up this contraption he was always fascinated with. I didn’t understand much contextually, but after some time I learned to hone my reflexes and timing. My family didn’t have the money to buy new games as soon as they dropped, but my parents did understand my fascination with them. Like many parents say to young children whose faces are stuck in a computer screen all day, “Whatever you playing better have some educational substance.” Putt-Putt, Cluefinders and the Gang

Just some kids and a chimp doing math. Courtesy of The Learning Company

Some of my favorite memories as a kid are the ones where I’d run up to my dad after coming home from work. I’d ask him what game he brought home and to some miraculous surprise he’d pull out a Cluefinders game. Putt-Putt, or some game with wacky colors where I’d drill math into my head for hours. It’s important to note that I am nowhere near fond of doing math. So, for a computer game to teach me how to do long division in twenty minutes when I went years guessing how to do it (and failing miserably) without correction? Absolute game-changer. I learned amazing and fun facts about science, electricity, creative studies… Everything. Simply from playing along and listening to interactive lessons. One of my favorite educational series, T…