All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'educational, core' on The Great Games Experiment All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'educational, core' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'educational, core' on The Great Games Experiment en-us Chesspark Chesspark was created by chess lovers to bring chess to a wide audience of casual, club, and professional players. Our modern and easy to use interface makes use of the latest technologies for the Web as well as Instant Messaging in order to make online chess accessible to everyone, not just the elite players. However, those elite players will find features at Chesspark that are available no where else and made just for them.
]]> 07 Mar 2007 08:08:05 MindRover MindRover: The Europa Project was first released in 1999 by CogniToy.
]]> 04 Dec 2006 10:48:11 You Don't Know Jack

You Don't Know Jack: the show where high culture and pop culture collide!


You Don't Know Jack is a series of quiz show-inspired computer games which combine trivia and comedy. The games are known for their humor and challenge, as well as simple presentation. The games rarely use graphics, relying heavily on voice acting and text.

The games have recently been revived at the YDKJ official website, where new episodes are released every weekday. These are developed in Flash and are available to play for free within your web browser.

Category: Quiz

Release Date: Varied

Developer: Jellyvision
]]> 26 Mar 2007 11:13:20 Oregon Trail II This version of the game includes far more detail than the original. For instance, rafting down the Columbia River is a much greater challenge than it was in the original Oregon Trail. Whenever an accident happens, the game ceases and the player must decide what to do in response. Players are also able to talk with other settlers along the way and ask their advice when needed.

This version also allows the player to choose between 20 years of travel (rather than 1 in the original) from 1840 to 1860. Travel is much easier in later years, as there are more towns and trading posts along the way to resupply your party.

OCCUPATIONS: In the Oregon Trail II, you can also select a number of different occupations, many with different skills that can assist you in your journey across the west. Such occupations include banker, doctor, merchant, pharmacist, wainwright, gunsmith, mason, blacksmith, wheelwright, cappenter, saddlemaker, brickmaker, prospector, trapper, surveyor, shoemaker, journalist, printer, butcher, baker, tailor, farmer, pastor, artist, and teacher. (Occupations listed in descending order in terms of cash on hand in the beginning of the game.) Despite some occupations having more money than others, the low income occupations get a greater final bonus, which proves crucial in getting a decent score in the end of the game. For example, a teacher may begin the game with only $500, but receives a 5.0x score bonus. A banker starts off with $2000, but receives a 1x bonus (no bonus). If the banker uses his abundance of funds, he can buy most everything essential for the journey right away and would need to resupply very few times over the course of the trip. Let's say the banker makes it to his destination with a score of around 4,000. If the teacher does well over the course of their journey headed to the same destination and utilizes trading well because of limited money, they will most likely get nearly five times the score of the banker.

LEVELS: Along with selecting an occupation for your character, you must also choose if you wish to remain a Greenhorn (a regular member of the wagon party, having no authority), an adventurer (Wagon train captain, elected to lead and choose different trails) and the trail guide (Navigator, paid well and allowed to choose paths at trail forks, but can be kicked off the wagon train if morale falls too low).

STARTING TOWNS: There is a decent selection of starting points, including the classic Independence, MO, and newer towns like St. Joseph, MO, Kanesville/Council Bluffs, IA, and Nauvoo, IL.

TRAILS AND LANDMARKS: The historical accuracy of the trails and landmarks is astounding. Famous trails other than the Oregon trail are also a part of the game, including the California Trail, Applegate Trail, and Mormon Trail.

DESTINATIONS: Also, there are four possible destinations. However, some destinations are available in different years: Oregon City (Earlier year the Willamette Valley), Sacramento (Earlier year the Sacramento Valley), Jacksonville, OR, (Earlier year the Rogue River Valley), or Salt Lake City.

HUNTING: Inside the game is the classic hunting sub-game. In Oregon Trail II, you can choose between three firearms for hunting: the Pistol, the Shotgun, and the Rifle. The Pistol is the most basic hunting tool and is only really effective against rodents large and small, killing larger animals such as deer and bear take multiple shots. The Shotgun is effective against birds and other animals at close range, but doesn't have the range or power to take down buffalo, etc. Overall, the Rifle is the best firearm in the game. Usually killing an animal close and far with one kill, it is the "most for your money" firearm in the game.

SUPPLIES: Especially in large towns, the selection of supplies is astounding. Dozens of medicines, clothing items, food items and other miscellaneous essentials (and not so essentials) are available for purchasing. During the beginning of the game, package deals are available up to six months of provisions. Keep in mind, however that the many perils in the game will cause many provisions to be lost or used for trade. It is still prudent to purchase the largest package deal offered.

ANIMALS: Some various animal types are available during the game to bring along in your trek across the western territories, such as Oxen, Horses, Mules, Chickens, and Milk Cows. Different animals provide different uses, such as Oxen being effective in pulling your wagon to your destination and chickens laying eggs for consumption. In the end of the game, the more draft animals you have, the better your score in that category.

OTHER: Some other unique aspects of the game include the California Gold Rush after 1848 and your ability to prospect for gold (If your occupation is prospector, you'll typically find more gold than anyone else). At the destination screen in the end of the game, you can also read a fun "What Lies Ahead" section which describes what happens to your character after they settle. Also, you are able to save your diary, which the computer keeps for you so you can reflect on the events of your journey.

(Quoted from Wikipedia)
]]> 10 Jun 2007 01:08:07 Hidden Agenda Hidden Agenda is a political simulator that is unique in many ways, as well as being both realistic and extremely replayable. The game casts you as the new president of Chimerica, a South American country that has just overthrown a tyrant named Farsante. The economy is in ruins, the country leaderless, massive factions fighting one another for control... and your unenviable task is to create a cabinet and begin the almost impossible task of rebuilding the country.
]]> 23 Jan 2007 09:25:37 Oscars Recorder Studio Oscar's Recorder Studio - Help learn the recorder with this simple to use program. Programmed in Purebasic and Blitz Basic 3d.

Code by xMystik

Gfx by Psionic

Music by Equinox

(c) Idigicon Limited
]]> 11 Mar 2007 07:47:09 biosys You wake up suffering from amnesia in what appears to be a rainforest but is actually one of four artificial biomes. To survive you have to keep the biomes working, so that you have food, water and fresh air. Beside manipulating the ecological conditions and getting yourself food and water, you also have to find out what happend to the biomes, what your role in it was and how you can get out alive, as you soon will find out about an experiment that went terribly wrong...
Biosys is a suspenseful 360° panorama point-and-click adventure with many puzzles to solve and several simulation elements. Beyond this you can learn something about flora and fauna in different ecological systems.
]]> 06 Jul 2007 09:17:44 Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail is an educational computer game about American pioneer life that has a long history in North American school districts and homes. The game was inspired by the real-life Oregon Trail and was designed to teach school children about the realities of 19th century pioneer life on the trail. The player takes the role of a party of people, of a selected profession, traveling across the Oregon Trail in a Conestoga wagon. The success of the game has spawned numerous sequels such as The Amazon Trail and The Yukon Trail.

The first version of the game, simply entitled "OREGON" was made in 1971 and was designed for the teletype machines operating on the TIES system at Carleton College. The original coder was Bill Heinemann. One of the original developers, Don Rawitsch, was a history teacher who later began working at the state-funded Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) in 1974, where the game would be further developed. Oregon Trail was distributed through the consortium to educational institutions and the code (written in BASIC) was published in Creative Magazine allowing users of Commodore PET and other early home microcomputers to input it into their own machines to play.
]]> 30 Jan 2007 06:35:07 Stratagus Stratagus was previously an open source project known as 'Freecraft', and its original purpose was to re-create the Warcraft 2 engine to the point of 100% playability. It succeeded in that goal and decided to move on towards other more challenging goals. Stratagus is now a general use open source engine that a large number of games have based themselves upon, such as Wargus, Battle of Survival, InsectWar, and more.
]]> 09 Jan 2007 04:48:39 Democracy Congratulations! You have been elected as the President or Prime Minister of a nation! Your next challenge - stay in power!

Make policies, measure the polls, and try to maintain over 50% of the vote each election. You'll need to be very careful - policies which may be immediately popular with the voters may also lead your country into long-term ruin. Free Health Care? You bet! But when you have to raise taxes to pay for it...
]]> 09 Dec 2006 08:43:59 Pilotwings This flight simulator for the SNES features 4 training locales and instructors with 4 flight mechanisms to master. It also features a helicopter rescue mission as an added bonus. The 4 main flight mechanics include the Light Plane, Skydiving, Rocket Belt, and the Hang Glider. With the inclusion of the game's Expert mode there is a total of 8 training levels and 2 rescue missions.

When it was originally released Pilotwings wowed the world with mode 7 graphics which allowed for hardware scaling and rotation. In terms of gameplay, this system feature allowed some of the very first open ended 3D environments to be explored. Although the pseudo-3D effects featured in Pilotwings would be dismissed as primitive by most gamers today, they can still effectively put a pit in a player's stomach.
]]> 30 Jan 2007 12:25:28 Game Biz 2 Go back in time to 1980, and see if you can make your mark in the up-and-coming "video game" business. Try and keep pace with the rapid changes in platforms (Atari 2600 or Colecovision? Apple II or Commodore 64? Mac or PC?) over the years, visit trade shows, hire and manage employees, build corporate headquarters, make deals with publishers, and build yourself into the future game development powerhouse!

Game Biz 2 is freeware.
]]> 09 Dec 2006 09:04:12 Robinson's Requiem This is one of the most intriguing game concepts of all time-- and the most frustrating. Your goal is simple: escape from alien planet Alcibiade. The process, however, is an ordeal that will leave masochistic gamers chuckling with joy: in addition to the mundane tasks of hunting, you must deal with diseases that strike inexplicably and amputated limbs.
]]> 08 Dec 2006 10:16:20 Balance of Power Balance of Power allows you to take on the role of either the President of the United States or the General Secretary of the Soviet Union with the goal of increasing your nation's prestige without going to war.

The interface is a simple map of the world showing the current level of influence the USSR and the US has on each nation. Turns are based around crises which much be resolved through diplomacy. This in turn affects the status of nations and the global threat level. If the threat level [DEFCON] gets too high, the game ends.

Developer: Chris Crawford
Released: 1985
]]> 24 Jan 2007 10:40:56 Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space Page Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space is a highly innovative computer game which was written shortly after the breakup of the Soviet Union. It's a simulation of the US-Soviet Space Race. This is a game for one or two players; you choose one of the two superpowers, head that country's space program, and try to beat your opponent to the Moon.
]]> 05 Dec 2006 03:54:54 Project: Space Station In Project: Space Station you get to run NASA. You must plan and execute missions over a 15 year period with the goal of building and operating a space station. During the game you must plan launches, design and build your space station, recruit personnel, manage your budget, and choose the R&D projects to run.
]]> 11 Dec 2006 12:53:46 Nebula Wars (Tinker Blaster's Trip) Includes a vector graphics ship editor, online leader list, custom sounds, and an acid trip graphics engine! Customize everything about your ship from mass to rate of fire. Use physics to create powerful ships. Massive ships take more hits, less massive ones take less engine power. Big projecties connect easily but small projectiles have more pressure ripping through baddies with less velocity! It's up to you to figure out what combination works to get you to the top of the online charts!
]]> 24 Jan 2007 01:25:07 Abominable Fluffy Slippers You are Fluffy Slippers an abominable snowman. Life in the underground ice caverns has been good, you are the chief of your pack. However, energy is slowly dwindling in the underground caverns. It's your job to take the great slide across the chasm and recharge the ice caverns. Only the fittest of abominable snowmen have made it across the chasm will you join their ranks.
]]> 24 Jan 2007 02:03:51 Typing Tutor Code by xMystik

Gfx by Rik "Putty"

(c) Idigicon Limited
]]> 11 Mar 2007 07:38:10 Professor Fizzwizzle Professor Fizzwizzle is a fun, mind-expanding puzzle game, where you take control of the diminutive genius, Professor Fizzwizzle. You must help the professor use his brains and his gadgets to solve each exciting level. Do you have what it takes to get past the Rage-Bots and bring the prof back to his lab?

The game includes:

- Over 230 exciting levels, with something for everyone! "Regular" levels to help beginners learn the ropes, "Advanced" levels for the brainy among us, and even "Kids" and "Alphabet" levels for the young in years, or the young at heart!

- A full featured level editor! If solving puzzles isn't enough for you, make your own masterpiece with the easy-to-use level editor!

- Exciting unlockables! As you solve puzzles you'll earn photos to add to the professor's gallery. You'll see the professor and his Friend-Bots in photos from all over the world!

Professor Fizzwizzle has something for everyone to enjoy; download it for FREE, today!
]]> 27 Nov 2006 03:48:47 Nintendogs - Chihuahua & Friends Nintendogs, which comes in four versions, features puppies of the most popular dog breeds, including Chihuahuas, Labrador retrievers, beagles and German shepherds. Each version of the game comes with six breeds to choose from at the start, and additional breeds are unlocked as you play the game or interact wirelessly with other Nintendogs players. All 19 breeds are unlockable in each version.

The Chihuahua & Friends package includes:

  • Chihuahua
  • German shepherd
  • Boxer
  • Cavalier King Charles spaniel
  • Yorkshire terrier
    • * Shetland sheepdog
    ]]>     08 Feb 2007 05:15:24     The Yukon Trail The Yukon Trail is a computer game from MECC, the creators of Oregon Trail. The game is based around the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 19th century. Players start out in Seattle, where they must partner up, secure travel, and purchase needed provisions.

    Periodically, the player stops at landmarks along the journey, where players can learn historical facts about each location. Some include the Dead Horse Trail, the totem poles, and the three rapids: Miles Canyon, Whitehorse Rapids and Five Finger Rapids.
    ]]>     30 Jan 2007 09:23:38     Sudoku You will never get bored with this Sudoku game as it generates proper Sudoku puzzles randomly. On top of that, it provides two different gaming modes. In normal mode, you can play without the limitation of time. Plus, hints are available when you get stuck. On the other hand, the Time attack mode is very challenging. You must solve the puzzle in a limited time. However, you may get bonus time by giving correct answers. Of course, punishment will be given if you make wrong answers.

    The game is also featured at eye-candy user-interface. In the near future, you will be able to change the theme as well as the background music.
    ]]>     06 Feb 2007 06:36:09     Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego In 1997, a new version, heavily influenced by the game show, was released by Brøderbund as simply Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?. In 1999, the game was retitled Carmen Sandiego's Great Chase Through Time under The Learning Company.

    The gamer plays as a "time sleuth" for the ACME Detective Agency. The objective of the game is to track down Carmen Sandiego and her henchman by jumping through "time tunnels". "Time tunnels" are tears in the time-space continuum that are left whenever the Chronoskimmer (a time travel device owned by the ACME agency) jumps through time. Being an educational title, the player ends up in many famous historical situations, meeting William the Conqueror and Johann Gutenberg, among others. On each mission the player is accompanied by a "good guide" from the agency. The five good guides are: Rock Solid, the muscle bound outdoors man, Ivan Idea, the skilled inventor and scientist, Renee Santz, a knowledgeable artist and musician, Ann Tickwitti, who is especially skilled in ancient civilizations, and Polly Tix, who deals with what else, Politics.

    This version of the game features Lynne Thigpen and five villains of the PBS game show. The goal is to solve 18 mysteries and to catch all nine of Carmen's villains and ultimately arrest Carmen herself. In each case the player has to fix a problem with history created by Carmen's villains and arrest the thief.

    The game is included on two CD-ROM's, the first one having the first eight cases and the second one having the remaining eleven. At the start of the second CD-ROM, Carmen busts all her thieves out of jail so they can return to stealing, but "laser bars" are added after this to prevent another jailbreak from happening. Curiously, one of the thieves, Dee Cryption, was not shown getting captured on the first disc, yet she still appears being busted out of jail with the other crooks at the start of the second disc.

    (Quoted from Wikipedia)
    ]]>     03 Jun 2007 10:12:16     Nintendogs - Daschund & Friends Nintendogs, which comes in three versions, features puppies of the most popular dog breeds, including Chihuahuas, Labrador retrievers, beagles and German shepherds. Each version of the game comes with six breeds to choose from at the start, and additional breeds are unlocked as you play the game or interact wirelessly with other Nintendogs players.

    The Dachshund & Friends package includes:

  • Miniature dachshund
  • Golden retriever
  • Beagle
  • Pug
  • Siberian husky
    • * Shih tzu
    ]]>     08 Feb 2007 05:10:45     Nintendogs - Lab & Friends Nintendogs features puppies from the most popular dog breeds, including Chihuahuas, Labrador retrievers, beagles and German shepherds. Each of the four versions of the game comes with six breeds to choose from at the start, and additional breeds are unlocked as you play.

    The Lab & Friends package includes:

  • Labrador retriever
  • Miniature schnauzer
  • Toy poodle
  • Pembroke Welsh corgi
  • Miniature pinscher
    • * Shiba inu
    ]]>     08 Feb 2007 04:58:16     The Guild 2 Story:
    "Europe, 1400 A.D. - The last crusade, which started 6 years before,
    ended in a horrible defeat when the crusaders failed to conquer Nikopolis before being reached by the armies of osmans and serbs. The dream of conquering Jerusalem is forgotten, and European authorities are well aware that over the coming centuries, they will be submerged into defending themselves against the osman forces, which have several outposts in
    eastern Europe. The roman-catholic church is in a state of devestating
    dispute and intrigue, and uprisings are clearly just around the corner.


    Meanwhile, the old barriers between citizens and noblemen are crumbling. With dignity, good luck and wealth, even merchants and craftsmen are able to join the realms of power. A time has come where kings and leaders
    depend on the gold of businessmen, and they are willing to pay the price...

    This is the setting you will be faced with as you enter the medieval world in your struggle to build your very own dynasty!"

    Features:
    "Medieval life simulation with overwhelming 3D graphics Unique blend of RPG, strategy and business simulation
    4 different character classes with specific abilities and advantages, from honest craftsman to fierce rogue...
    10 different professions, including alchemist, smith and rogue, countless titles, elected positions and benefits form those Self-explaining and intuitive interface Huge and foolproof tutorial More than 150 minutes of orchestral soundtrack performed by the "Thüringen Philharmonie"
    Exciting multiplayer mode for up to 8 players, online and LAN"

    Short descript:

    In an age rife with intrigues and battles, rise through the ranks of society from a mere crafter to the city's magistrate. Or choose the secret path of thievery to become a feared robber baron or pirate (with the mod/patch)
    ]]>     13 Mar 2007 06:06:23     Nintendogs - Dalmatian & Friends Nintendogs, which comes in four versions, features puppies of the most popular dog breeds, including Chihuahuas, Labrador retrievers, beagles and German shepherds. Each version of the game comes with six breeds to choose from at the start, and additional breeds are unlocked as you play the game or interact wirelessly with other Nintendogs players. All 19 breeds are unlockable in each version.

    The Dalmatian & Friends starting breed choices includes:

  • Dalmatian
  • Golden Retriever
  • Yorkshire Terrier
  • Beagle
  • Boxer
    • * German Shepherd Dog
    ]]>     08 Feb 2007 05:19:51     The Restaurant Game The Restaurant Game is a research project at the MIT Media Lab that will algorithmically combine the gameplay experiences of thousands of players to create a new game. In a few months, we will apply machine learning algorithms to data collected through the multiplayer Restaurant Game, and produce a new single-player game that we will enter into the 2008 Independent Games Festival. Everyone who plays The Restaurant Game will be credited as a Game Designer. It's never been easier to earn Game Designer credentials!

    This game was created with Torque v1.5.
    ]]>     07 Mar 2007 01:33:16     Europa Universalis 3 Europa Universalis III delves deeply into the areas of exploration, trade, warfare and diplomacy. This epic strategy game lets players take control of a nation and guide it through the ages to become a great global empire. Unparalleled in its depth and historical accuracy, Europa Universalis III gives the player unprecedented freedom in how they choose to rule their nation from an impressive choice of over 250 historically accurate countries.

    KEY FEATURES
    • Players can enjoy over 300 years of game play by starting at ANY date between 1453 and 1789.
    • Nation building is flexible: decide your own form of government, the structure of your society, trade politics and much more. The possibilities are endless.
    • The great people and personalities of the past are on hand to support you. Take history in your hands and call personalities like Sir Isaac Newton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or René Descartes to your court.
    • A lush topographic map in full 3D allows for a rich and complete world view, and contains more than 1700 provinces and sea zones.
    • Lead any one of more than 250 countries that originally existed during the game’s extensive time span.
    • Have more than a thousand historical leaders and over 4000 historical Monarchs at your disposal.
    • Manage more than 100 individual unit troops to secure as much power as possible.
    • Co-operative multiplayer mode allows several players to work together to controla single nation.
    • Customize your game: Europa Universalis III gives you the chance to customizeand mod practically anything your heart may desire.Join the constantly growing and incredibly talented Paradox modding community!
    ]]>     01 Feb 2007 06:38:02     Aerial Antics Navigate 50 levels with your personal jet propulsion device! Learn to deal with boost, gravity, inertia as you fly through obstacles, kick giant beach balls off cliffs, and bomb your way to the Aerial Antics Circus Airship!
    ]]>     27 Nov 2006 02:31:50     Nintendogs - Best Friends Edition Nintendogs features puppies from the most popular dog breeds, including Chihuahuas, Labrador retrievers, beagles and German shepherds. Each of the four versions of the game comes with six breeds to choose from at the start, and additional breeds are unlocked as you play.

    The Best Friends Edition includes:

  • Labrador retriever
  • miniature dachshund
  • German shepherd
  • beagle
  • golden retriever
    • * Yorkshire terrier
    ]]>     08 Feb 2007 05:26:20     Full Contact Debate
    ]]>     13 Feb 2008 01:14:56     Megaman Powered Up
    ]]>     27 Dec 2007 09:07:46