Kinds of games and their good sides
Electronic games come in many kinds. Educational games teach something. Strategy games ask you to plan ahead. Group games, also called multiplayer games, are played with others. Simulation games copy how something works in real life. Entertainment games are mainly for fun and rest. Many games mix several kinds. Played well, games can help you practise planning, work in a team and be patient when something is difficult. Be careful with big claims: a game is not magic, and it is wrong to say that games change the brain in a special way. What a game gives you depends on the game itself and on how you play. In the next lesson we look at designs that are not so friendly.
| Kind of game | What it can build | Invented example |
|---|---|---|
| educational | new knowledge and practice | a quiz game about the planets |
| strategy | planning ahead | a game of building a city and its roads |
| group (multiplayer) | teamwork and talking together | a team game where each player has a role |
| simulation | understanding how things work | a farm game with seasons and crops |
| entertainment | relaxing and having fun | a puzzle game with coloured blocks |
Think of a game you know and decide which of the five kinds it belongs to; it may be more than one. Write one good thing it can build and one question you would ask before playing it for a long time. Do not name the game on your poster.