Julia Somlo
As the video game market becomes more dense than ever, it is important to reflect on educational games of the past that brought people genuine value. We will do that in a few ways: first, we will break down the various ways that video games impact education as a whole. Then, we'll analyze the most popular educational video games of the last century and early this century to show how the industry for educational games has changed.
The History of Educational Games
First of all, let's break down what an educational video game does: it makes learning something new much more entertaining. But what makes an educational video game so fun? According to North Carolina State University, one of the biggest elements of any successful educational video game is the relatable challenges that it sets for students. These challenges are linked to two major components: personal interest and cultural context.
As by its names, personal interest is often a relatable challenge or something related to a familiar franchise. For example, Pokemon-inspired educational games probably interest a 7-year-old more than an old-school flappy bird game. The idea of personal interest cannot be touched on without the mention of cultural context.
Although the term is broad, cultural context refers to someone's environment or everyday slang. Each individual has varying backgrounds, which influences which games they pick. For example, a person who didn't grow up appreciating historical and survival games won't enjoy The Oregon Trail.
Educational Games That Worked
To quantify the importance of these games, let's review a few that have emerged as the top educational games of the time. The Sumerian Game emerged as one of the first educational games ever. It was created in an IBM terminal connected to a mainframe computer and quickly became known for its academic aspect. However, an even more known game is The Oregon Trail, which was developed by a teacher. Similarly, Reader Rabbit was created by a teacher to inspire a younger generation of readers how to read and spell. But it wasn't anywhere as popular as Where in the World is Carmen Santiago?, which has been adapted into a Netflix series and a long-lasting geography game series. A more recent addition to this list is the Brain Dump series, which was initially developed on Nintendo DS.
Even now, in 2025, video games are very relevant. As games pivoted from console to browser-based and even VR games, almost infinite possibilities have emerged for educational games. Especially following the pandemic, with more and more games and tools becoming available, integrating education into game-based environments is even easier than ever. And so, as the world continues using modern educational standards, it is important to reflect on the past games that have shaped the generations before us and look forward to the games that will shape the future. Many professionals agree with this idea. In 2024, the United States NIH released a detailed report where they detailed the positive impact of simulations and video games in classrooms, including one major effect: “stimulating their interest and motivation to learn.” With current technology progression increasing at an alarming rate, video games can become much more immersive and students can have even more impactful experiences based on the games we know and love. With improved experiences compared to past games such as Oregon Trail, which could be adapted into interactive choice-based games such as their continuous adaptations or games such as Where in the World is Carmen Santiago can be incorporated with in-class instruction to create future adaptations of other, child-friendly franchises.
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Folklore Corner: Krampus