Edutainment games

Edutainment Games

Brief Introduction

You ever play a video game and started thinking you weren't rotting your brain, but were instead getting smarter for playing it? Congratulations! You just played Edutainment!

Edutainment encompasses a broad category of games that combine education with entertainment, making learning fun for kids and adults alike. Edutainment covers a remarkably varied range of subjects, catering to a diverse band of educational needs. For younger players, these games often focus on foundational skills such as Math (e.g., number recognition, arithmetic, or algebra) and English (e.g., reading, spelling, grammar, or vocabulary building). For school-aged learners, topics tend to expand into core academic disciplines such as science, geography and history. There are also more esoteric and abstract forms of learning, such as problem-solving skills, programming, touch-typing and so on. The defining characteristic of all edutainment games is their ethos of blending engaging gameplay with meaningful educational content. For a game to qualify as edutainment, it must be a video game explicitly designed to teach players something tangible - whether that’s a concrete academic concept, a practical skill, or a cognitive ability applicable in the real world.

Whether you want to actually improve your skills, teach younger kids on a budget, experience these for the first time yourself or relive those nostalgic memories of the computer lab or those book fairs, this list is for you.

Math and Logic

These two categories encompass the overwhelming majority of edutainment software. These games would often teach number recognition, arithmetic, fractions, algebra, or even geometry through puzzles.

Cover	Title	Platforms	Description	Screenshot
	Brain Age (series)	Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS Nintendo Switch	If you've got a Nintendo console and you feel too much of a dumbfuck for buying one, then The Brain Age series is for you. Also known as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training in PAL regions, the Brain Age series is inspired by the work of Japanese neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima. The series features a library of games designed to stimulate cognitive functions through a variety of mental exercises, aiming to improve brain function and mental agility.
	Castle of Dr. Brain	MS-DOS Amiga Macintosh PC-98 (JP)	This is the most unreasonable job application ever devised; but then again, you are applying to be the assistant for a mad scientist. Castle of Dr. Brain is an adventure game by Sierra where you solve math and logic challenges to navigate the surreal, twisting halls of this castle. It's not so much a game focused entirely on math and logic, it also features critical thinking, problem solving and even a little programming on top of that. Some of the puzzles can fuck right off though, such as the elevator mazes. "Lovely graphics, great music and lots of puns - it's classic Sierra. And if that's your preferred flavor of retro PC gaming edutainment, then you can't really go wrong here." ~ LGR Games Review, 2019
	Logical Journey of the Zoombinis	Windows Mac	This game is delightfully weird but also strangely impactful, because it puts you in a position of power, where your actions determine who lives or dies. Guide a group of small, blue Zoombini refugees as they escape from their oppressive homeland to find a new home, navigating through a series of increasingly challenging logic puzzles across four distinct regions. Each Zoombini has unique traits—such as different hairstyles, eye colors, noses, and modes of transportation, which is actually largely dependent on how you solve certain puzzles, which involve pattern recognition, sorting, and logical deduction.
	The Incredible Machine (series)	MS-DOS Windows Macintosh	This series was edutainment TO - A - TEE. You have this amazing construction kit with a working physics simulation engine. You pick the puzzle mode and you're given a selection of missing pieces that need to be added to complete a task like "knock the ball into the basket", or "set off all the explosives". Every object behaves differently and interacts with each other in a certain way, and it's up to you to figure out how they fit together. You can also make your own crazy Rube Goldberg machine style puzzles and set whatever goal you want. If you want to experience the best this series had to offer, then get Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions on GOG Galaxy. This is basically the same levels from TIM 2, only with full voice acting, a better interface, updated visuals and better compatibility.
	Number Munchers	Apple II MS-DOS Macintosh	Chomp your way through math problems, solving equations to clear the board. Do basic arithmetic like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, as well as multiples and factors to clear the board before you're eaten by a troggle. But if you fuck up and give a wrong answer, you lose a life anyway! Is 20 a multiple of 5? Is 15 divisible by 3? Tick-tock, champ - you better answer quick, or you’re lunch!
	Math Blaster (series)	MS-DOS Windows Macintosh Apple II and many more...	For a franchise called Math Blaster (AKA: The Blaster Learning System), you certainly do a lot of blasting! Players join Blasternaut and his robotic sidekick Spot, as they embark on intergalactic adventures to solve math problems, defeat enemies and save the galaxy, the usual stuff. The series has evolved over decades across various platforms, including PC, consoles and mobile devices, while maintaining its core mission.

English

Language skills is another common topic that gets a big dose of edutainment, and edutainment seems to be a largely Anglo phenomenon, there's a good chance that the number one language taught this way is English. Players will be able to develop phonics, spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

Cover	Title	Systems	Description	Screenshot
	Reader Rabbit (series)	PC / MS-DOS Apple II Mac iOS Android Nintendo Wii	Reader Rabbit is a long-running educational software series first released in 1983, designed to teach reading and spelling through engaging, interactive adventures. In the original Reader Rabbit game and its many sequels, players join the rabbit and his friends as they solve puzzles and complete activities. Each game features a mix of mini-games, exploration and story-driven challenges, with adaptive difficulty to suit different learning levels.
	The Typing of the Dead	Arcade Dreamcast PC PS2 iOS	FUCK YEARRRR TYPING OF THE DEAD! Fuck Mavis Beacon and fuck Mario, this is quite possibly the best way to gamify typing. This is a reskin of House of the Dead 2, but those insane bastards at SEGA switched the guns for typewriters in the cutscenes. Most of everything else is the same as the original its based on, terribad voice-acting and all. The ridiculousness seeps into the gameplay as well, making you type all sorts of weird shit. (ankle fetish, anyone?)
	Word Munchers	MS-DOS Apple II Mac	Just like number munchers, but for words. Same gameplay, same hungry troggles.

Other

Cover	Title	System	Description	Screenshot
	Grossology	Windows	Based on Sylvia Branzei’s book series, Grossology teaches kids about biology through a maelstrom of blood, snot, puke, farts and other gross bodily functions. Your university guide, Ginger Vitis (HAAAAAA) tours you through nine interactive labs run by a cast of disgusting professors, who explain the stuff your regular science teacher would rather gloss over. Each lab has a selection of interactive elements and a mini-game. This game features a standout performance by Charles Martinet, the long-time voice actor who voiced Mario in Super Mario 64 and most other Mario games beyond that. Around the same time, Martinet lent his talents to a very different plumber: Paul "The Buttcrack" Plumber. Good ol' Buttcrack guides players through an exploration of the body’s digestive system, including how the anal sphincter opens to help you shit. This game is a goddamn masterpiece.
	The Oregon Trail (series)	Apple II MS-DOS Macintosh Windows and many more	There's gold in them thar hills... and rattlesnakes... and famine... and dysentery.. That's not going to stop plucky pioneers from piling into a rickety wagon with dreams bigger than their biscuit barrels! This pilgrimage tosses you into the dusty boots of a 19th-century settler, where you’ll name your party, haggle for oxen, and pray your kids don’t die of snakebite or a bad case of “I drank the river water.” This trail’s a brutal lesson in gambling with bleak odds, resource management, heartbreak and the grim reminder that little Timmy’s tombstone now reads, “He tried to ford the river.” The series was originally a text game for school mainframes back in the 1970s, but the 1985 Apple II version is the most famous one. Oregon trail II was also pretty good, Oregon Trail: 3rd Edition not so much. The 2022 remake by Gameloft is also interesting thanks to its updated graphics and gameplay.
	Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge	Windows Macintosh	Most will remember the kid's gameshow which aired around the 90s on PBS, but few are aware that it drew inspiration from an earlier computer game that, by comparison, feels remarkably lackluster and plain. The player takes on the role of a rookie detective and attempt to track down Carmen's network of thieves, collect evidence to get a warrant and ultimately arrest them. This builds up to the final confrontation where the player will attempt to arrest Carmen Sandiego herself. Later entries in the franchise would step up their game and provide more engaging detective work. Players would not only track the criminal mastermind through more specific area around America or Europe, but through the fabric of time itself. The best in series would be the 2001 PC title, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge. In this edition of the game, you get the same gameloop, only this time there's a full voice-acting cast and animated cartoon sequences.

Art and Creativity

There are many creative tools and activity suites that have been released for various systems over the years, with varying degrees of quality. That's because this making this type of edutainment was a dime a dozen, anyone can slap a kids franchise on the front cover, throw in a basic drawing tool and call it a day. However, some edutainment endeavored to go a step further, by giving their players an in-depth suite of tools to play with.

Cover	Title	System	Description	Screenshot
	Art Academy (series)	Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS Wii U	Using a stylus and touchpad could be considered the best method of teaching a player muscle-memory when it comes to drawing, since there's so few degrees of separation from using a drawing tablet, or hell- even a pencil. And yes, this is a franchise, you might not be aware of that due to how criminally underrated this series is.
	Mario Paint	Nintendo SNES	This game came bundled with the Super NES mouse, and this remains the gold standard creativity studio for children. Make colorful drawings or edit drawings with Mario and company, make simple animations, or compose the next club banger in the music composer. There's also a mini-game called Gnat-Attack if you need a break from being creative as well. This was the inspiration for many future games, such as WarioWare D.I.Y. and Super Mario Maker, cementing its legacy as a sandbox where every doodle, note or bouncing toad felt like a triumph of ingenuity. The best way to experience this is through an emulator, although someone did make a standalone version of the music composer. You can download it here