stephanie

It doesn't come right out and say they make you smarter, but scientists at MIT are finding some games do have a positive effect on brain development. It is nice that people have finally started to see that when a kid is playing a game, he might be "in the zone", but he is not "zoned out".

http://mobile.boston.com/siteserver/site?t=1hV71vevTfEfa0Iwv1r4lw&sid=boston

Steph
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with Nextel Direct Connect

AllisonR

I am new to the whole concept of (unschooling and )video games and TV as a valid part of our family culture. I have been opening up to this concept and it feels great...not just for me but for the whole family. My 10 year old has discovered the game Civilization IV and is ENTHRALLED. He is delighted in this game and shares his delight with us which is a MARVEL bc. he is a quiet, internal kid who does not ordinarily share much with anyone...still waters run deep (and quiet) and such.

I would love to provide him more games that are as complex and fun as this one. He loves fantasy, mystery, myth, puzzles, Pokemon, Bionicles, chess and all things strategy. I know things are out there, but don't know where to start.
Danke,
Allison

Ed Wendell

Zac - age 15 likes strategy games : He likes the war side of things so given that information here is his list:

Age of Empires - there are several in this series
Command and Conquer - the first decade
Command and Conquer - Tiberium Wars Gold Pack which includes Kane's Wrath
Strong Hold 2
Star Wars Empire at war - gold pack which includes an expansion pack
Supreme Commander -
Supreme Commander - forged alliance - is the expansion game
Total War - several in the series - including: Empire total war; Medieval total war; Rome total war, etc.
Age of Mythology - an older one and may be hard to find but your son may really like it -

There are many more that he has looked at but has not gotten yet. Wal-Mart, game stop, and anywhere that sells computer games are good places to look and some you may have to find on-line.


Zac told me what to type and I typed it, so these are his words. :)


Lisa W.

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Tina Boster

======I would love to provide him more games that are as complex and fun as
this one. He loves fantasy, mystery, myth, puzzles, Pokemon, Bionicles,
chess and all things strategy. I know things are out there, but don't know
where to start. ======



Any of the Age of Empire or Age of Mythology games would be great for a kid
who likes Civilization. Also, Caesar or Pharaoh are good (but older) games.
Rome Total War is set in the Roman Empire. Stronghold is a real time
stategy game in which you design a castle, populate it, manage it, defend
it, etc. Heroes of Might and Magic is another game that's been hanging on
for a few years at our house. We have such a huge collection of both turn
based and real time strategy games that I'm having a hard time thinking of
them all right now. You can find a lot of really great, older strategy
games in the bargain racks at most stores that sell computer games.



The big gaming focus at our house right now is LOTRO (Lord of the Rings
Online). I know that a lot of unschoolers play WOW (World of Warcraft).
Both of these are on-line games that carry a monthly subscription fee.
However, LOTRO is definitely worth the $10/month we pay to play it. I'm
sure the WOW players would say the same for their game. If you want a
lighter, more watered down version of these games, Wizard 101 and Runes of
Magic are both free on-line games that you download from the internet.



Happy Gaming,



Tina (Toby 12, Trevor 9, Abby 4)



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Robin Bentley

>
>
> The big gaming focus at our house right now is LOTRO (Lord of the
> Rings
> Online). I know that a lot of unschoolers play WOW (World of
> Warcraft).
> Both of these are on-line games that carry a monthly subscription fee.
> However, LOTRO is definitely worth the $10/month we pay to play it.
> I'm
> sure the WOW players would say the same for their game. If you want a
> lighter, more watered down version of these games, Wizard 101 and
> Runes of
> Magic are both free on-line games that you download from the internet.
>
We play WoW, but Blizzard also has a computer game (not online) called
Warcraft. It features the same characters and themes as WoW, but is a
real-time strategy game. Though Michelle hasn't played it, she's read
the Warcraft series of books for the lore which helps her understand
her WoW play better.

Blizzard also has Starcraft (science fiction) Diablo (action fantasy)
games. None of these three have a monthly subscription fee. We know a
little about them from attending Blizzcon, the Blizzard gaming
convention, but maybe someone who plays them can pipe up with their
experience.

BTW, we *love* WoW. It is more expensive per month than LOTRO ($16),
though.

Robin B.

Tina Boster

======= Blizzard also has Starcraft (science fiction) Diablo (action
fantasy) games. None of these three have a monthly subscription fee. We know
a little about them from attending Blizzcon, the Blizzard gaming convention,
but maybe someone who plays them can pipe up with their experience. =======



Diablo II is another favorite for my 9yo. He loves the LAN play option.
It's one of his preferred methods of hanging out with his grandfather.
Diablo III is on its way, and Trevor can't wait. Every once in a while he
turns on the demo video he has of Diablo III just to watch it in
anticipation of the latest version of one of his favorite games. Diablo is
classic hack and slash. It's really not a very complicated game, and it's
easy to master by novice players. However, it is very bloody so if you're
not into gore, you might want to use caution with this one. I think there
is a setting to turn down the gore, but it's been so long since I played
that I can't remember. I beat the game almost a decade ago, so it' been a
long time.



We had StarCraft and the old WarCraft game (before WoW), but I think we
threw them both out because nobody liked them.



==== BTW, we *love* WoW. It is more expensive per month than LOTRO ($16),
though. ======



We got a deal on our subscription for LOTRO - I'm not sure what the regular
price is. It's probably pretty close to the WoW price. I was originally
against a game with a monthly fee because experience with Guild Wars (no fee
- but not as fun) taught me that I would have to get at least 4 accounts,
and $40-$60/month was scary for me. However, I found that due to multiple
servers we are able to get by with just two accounts. Also, I don't know if
WoW does this, but with LOTRO you can get a lifetime account for a few
hundred bucks and never have to pay that fee again. I'm seriously
considering it. I am a total convert for games you have to pay to play.



Tina



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