Growing up, I was big into computer games. I loved them. They kept me entertained for hours. The other day, I was reading about some of the most popular games of all time, and realized that most of these game actually are educational! These games teach real skills, such as budgeting, working for goals, planning, strategizing, etc. By being even okay at these games, you can leverage these skills for success in life.
Just take a look at these top games:
1. The Sims
2. World of Warcraft
3. StarCraft
4. Sim City
5. Roller Coaster Tycoon
Teaching Essential Skills
Just looking at this list, you can see some of the skills needed:
Budgeting: The Sims is a great example of how to create and use a budget. You have to work to earn income to buy the stuff you want for your house. You also need to get your Sim up and get him to work, or else you can get fired. You also have to maintain things around the house, feed your Sim, and other things; many of which require money! By being good at this game, you can really gain some personal finance skills.
Planning: All of these games require planning to some extent, but both World of WarCraft and StarCraft really rely on it. You need to identify and utilize resources effectively, plan where to build buildings, and basically everything you need to be successful in battle. It requires thought and planning to succeed!
Strategizing: Strategizing is also essential to be successful in all of these games. From what to build, to what resources are needed, to what to spend on, to even designing battle plans for your soldiers. All of these games have a huge element of strategy involved, and playing them can really develop strong strategy skills.
Business Management: Along with all of the skills above, Roller Coaster Tycoon also has a huge element of business management involved. From budgeting, to ticket prices, to keeping your visitors happy, you have to consider a lot when building your theme parks. As a result, it gives you a great overview of running a business. Sim City is also very similar in this regard – city management is like business management.
The Result
I think we need to allow children to play more of these games to get the skills they need to be successful in life. You will notice that no first-person shooter games is on the list. Although both World of WarCraft and StarCraft are battle-esque games, they don’t involve any shooting – it is all strategy and battle planning. I think if we focused more on these types of games, and less on shooter games, we would have a much brighter future generation!
Readers, what are your thoughts on video games and education?
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This post was written by...
Robert – who has written 317 posts on The College Investor.
Robert is the founder and editor of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to young adult and college student finances. You can learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t give the kids any more ammo! lol
Video games do have certain skills that they can teach kids but I still think they are not really paying attention to that.
You touched on two of my favorite topics! Formulating a strategy is essential whether it is a video game or about managing your finances!
Civilization was another great example of how money was key. You got gold based on various things, including what type of government you ran, what you focused your citizens on doing, and of course, the tax rate!
I liked sims growing up but always felt like I was falling behind. I agree that it can help teach responsibility with finances, but to a certain extent.
I have never played video games, but I imagine they could probably be educational. Maybe if I had a brother I’d know!
haha, I’ll have to show this post to my fiancee. However, if you have the cheat for “free money” on the Sims budgeting isn’t really an issue.
I totally agree. There are many games I played as a kid, video and not, that I learned a lot from. Games are a great way for kids to have fun learning. Great post.
It is interesting that you have the SIMS in this list. The funny thing is the SIMS video game has a similar tax strategy as a currently popular GOP presidential candidate.