Games About Global Issues and (More) Current Events (+ Serious Games)
Please note: These games have many political points of view expressed and stones ranging from the scientifically serious to the polemically politically satirical. Please make sure you, the teacher, play the games before using them for school.
Guide to Codes:
- action = action game
- adventure = point-and-click adventure games.
- cb-images = choice-based text with images
- cb-text = choice-based text
- city = city-builder, management
- fps = first person shooter
- fsim = flight simulator
- management = management simulation
- rpg = role playing game
- rtgs = real-time grand strategy
- rts = real-time strategy or tactics
- tbs = turn-based strategy, not exclusively on warfare
- thpa = third person action
- war tb = wargame, turn-based
- war rts = wargame, real time
Capitalism
Online (Free)
- Oiligarchy – Satirical and polemical
- National Geographic Eco Games – Need to Register for Free Download
- Precipice – Beyond a certain point there is no return
- Starbuck’s Planet Green Game
- Windfall – Windfarming
Desktop ($$)
- Capitalism
- Neocolonialism
Environment, Energy, Eco-politics, and Sustainability
Online (Free)
- Ciclania (in Spanish)
- Climate Challenge
- Collapsus
- Enercities
- Energy City (National Geographic: Jason Project)
- ElectroCity
- Harpooned – Japanese Cetacean Research Simulator – Potentially disturbing and polemical (must download)
- McDonald’s Game
- Oiligarchy – Satirical and polemical
- National Geographic Eco Games – Need to Register for Free Download
- Precipice – Beyond a certain point there is no return
- Starbuck’s Planet Green Game
- Windfall – Windfarming
Desktop ($$)
Global Poverty – Hunger – Subsistence
Online (Free)
- African Highland Farmer
- African Farmer
- Ayiti: Cost of Life
- Garbage Dreams
- Real Lives 2010 (download demo)
- Third World Farmer
- One Hen – Microfinance for Kids
Desktop ($$)
- Real Lives
- Cart Life
Human Rights Oppression, Terrorism, War, (also see Refugees, and Immigration)
Online (Free)
- 1000 Days of Syria
- Against All Odds
- Battle for Donetsk
- The Curfew
- Darfur is Dying
- Homeland Guantanamos
- Mission Rwanda
- Orange Revolution
- September 12th – A Toy World (Requires the old Adobe Shockwave plugin and IE or Firefox; does not seem to run on Chrome)
- Syrian Journey
Desktop ($$)
Natural and Biological Disasters
Online (Free)
Desktop ($$)
- The Day the Earth Shook – An Earthquake preparedness game by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency
- Plague Incorporated
Tabletop($$)
- Extreme Event – A free, print-and-play disaster simulation role playing game for 12-48 players. Focuses on group decisions making and problem -solving in the face of disaster.
Politics and Law (US Mostly; Send me International Entries for Inclusion)
Online (Free)
- Civic Games – Games and resources developed to teach Civics in new, effective ways. ICivics has a variety of games dealing with the different branches of government, and issues like government budgets.
- Do I Have a Right – Learn the Constitutional rights protected in the amendments (my review at Teachinghistory.org)
- Budget Hero
- USC – Redistricting Game
- Howard Dean for Iowa Game
Desktop ($$)
- The Political Machine
Refugees, and Immigration
Online (Free)
Desktop ($$)
- Four Horsemen
- Papers Please
- Refuge
State Surveillance, Oppression
Online (Free)
Desktop ($$)
- Beholder
- Orwell
- Papers Please
Other Topics
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GTP Designer Talks
Interviews with designers of historical video games. Posted here and on Spotify , Google Play, and Apple Podcasts.
Gaming the Past
Gaming the Past, a book devoted to providing practical guidelines for teachers who want to use historical simulation games effectively, is published by Routledge and available on Amazon
History Respawned is a series of videos and podcasts where historians discuss historical video games. Created and directed by Bob Whitaker and associate editor John Harney, the series is a must for those interested in history in video games
Thanks for the note — they should be fixed now