TOP PICKS | 39 TOOLS Best Summer Learning Games

PBS KIDS Kart Kingdom

Lively, colorful exploration app teaches strategy, tool-making

Bottom line: Exploration, resource gathering, and crafting will teach students how systems work while they have fun navigating the world. Grades: 1–4 Price: Free

Busy Water

Solve, create, and share that gush with STEM learning

Bottom line: This challenging yet kid-friendly set of logic puzzles wonderfully allows kids to solve problems and experiment with light science concepts. Grades: 1–5 Price: $3.99

Magnus Kingdom of Chess

Gentle chess game ideal for young newbies

Bottom line: For kids who are new to chess but want to learn how to play, this fun intro to the game provides a well-done tutorial combined with a light overarching storyline. Grades: 1–8 Price: Paid

The Infinite Arcade by Tinybop

Simple game-design app has endless creative potential

Bottom line: Letting students design, play, improve, and share their own games opens up opportunities for learning potential in many subject areas. Grades: 2–6 Price: Paid

Contraption Maker

Solve problems, puzzles, brain teasers while creating wacky machines

Bottom line: Hands-on problem-solving leads to great fun and independent learning with the right curricular wraparound to connect what kids are doing with what they need to know. Grades: 3–8 Price: Free, Paid Bridge Constructor Portal

Engineering game is a blast to play, needs extensive teacher guidance

Bottom line: It's a solid game not designed for education, but in the right hands it could be a great hook for an engineering unit. Grades: 3–12 Price: Paid

Minecraft

Spiraling sandbox of adventure and creation gets kids to dig deep

Bottom line: An irresistible and seemingly limitless incubator for 21st-century skills that, with a little guidance, can chart new courses for learning. Grades: 3–12 Price: Paid

WordWhile: Casual Literary Fun

Clever fill-in-the-blank game playfully promotes literature

Bottom line: A different spin on reading the classics can engage students in the short term, but teachers should find ways to extend learning. Grades: 3–12 Price: $4.99

Elegy for a Dead World

Compelling sci-fi world imagined -- and written -- by its players

Bottom line: With some teacher guidance, Elegy offers an opportunity unlike anything else to get students to write stories and stretch their creative muscles. Grades: 4–12 Price: $14.99

W.E.L.D.E.R. Swap

Mashup of Boggle and Candy Crush gets kids forming new words

Bottom line: Students, especially word geeks, will dig this strategic game, but it's unclear how much it'll impact learning. Grades: 4–12 Price: Free to try

Journey

Gorgeous, moving adventure -- a jewel of social and emotional learning

Bottom line: Journey is a must-play experience and a shining beacon of the good that games can do. Grades: 5–12 Price: $14.99 Never Alone: Ki Edition

Illuminating native Alaskan folktale supports SEL skills

Bottom line: A beautiful achievement developed in cooperation with indigenous folk that offers players valuable SEL skill building and a respectful window into Inupiat culture, ways of life, traditions, and stories. Grades: 5–12 Price: 4.99

Algo Bot

Simple coding game a fun intro to algorithms

Bottom line: This coding game is a fun and helpful introduction to basic algorithm development, but other resources will be needed for more depth. Grades: 6–12 Price: Paid

Construct 3

Ideal 2D game builder supports students to create, innovate

Bottom line: Limitless game options, reasonable cost, and extensive support make this programming environment perfect for an educational setting. Grades: 6–12 Price: Free to try, Paid

Epistory - Typing Chronicles

Practice typing by exploring and defending a world made of paper

Bottom line: Great for practicing touch-typing skills, this draws players in with a slowly revealed backstory. Grades: 6–12 Price: Paid

FTL: Faster Than Light

Failure is frequent and fun in this strategic starship sim

Bottom line: This starship simulator isn’t easy, but gritty kids will learn from failure and practice systems thinking. Grades: 6–12 Price: $9.99

Hack 'n' Slash

Zelda-inspired puzzler lets players peek behind the code curtain

Bottom line: A great intro to variables and how algorithms work, this game would shine as a supplement to a larger unit on programming. Grades: 6–12 Price: $13.37

Addictive, unique way to supplement coding instruction

Bottom line: A novel way to learn programming that will require student collaboration and extra adult support. Grades: 6–12 Price: $4.99 (app), $9.99 ()

Papo & Yo

Powerful tale of alcoholism uses puzzles and metaphor to build empathy

Bottom line: A beautiful game that's sure to build students' empathy skills and provoke deep conversations about alcoholism and abuse as well as metaphor. Grades: 6–12 Price: 14.99

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Brilliant, charming puzzler challenges kids' ELA and math skills

Bottom line: It's on Nintendo DS so it's not easy to weave into a classroom, but it's worth it, bridging ELA and math in complex puzzles guaranteed to absorb students. Grades: 6–12 Price: 30

SimCity

Exciting city simulator great for online play

Bottom line: SimCity does a great job teaching kids about cities by putting them in control of designing them, but this game needs a constant Internet connection. Grades: 6–12 Price: $19.99

The Pack - NYSCI

Deceptively gentle coding game really packs a problem-solving punch

Bottom line: This gorgeous, immersive programming game encourages novel solutions. Grades: 6–12 Price: Free

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Heartfelt story-as-history-lesson humanizes World War I

Bottom line: Part history lesson, part action, part puzzler, all wrapped inside a sincere and emotional story that builds skills, historical knowledge, and empathy. Grades: 6–12 Price: 19.99 7 Billion Humans

Amusing puzzler challenges kids, teaches programming principles

Bottom line: This high-quality puzzle game is a fun way for students to learn effective and efficient programming skills. Grades: 7–12 Price: Paid

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Unique cooperative adventure with lasting social and emotional impact

Bottom line: With good support, an extremely powerful game to build empathy. Grades: 7–12

GameMaker Studio 2

One of the best creation tools available for aspiring game developers

Bottom line: Provides teachers with the best choice for a full unit or class on game design, and gives students a tool to help them realize their game-making dreams. Grades: 7–12 Price: Free to try, Paid

Geocaching

Leave and locate hidden packages in a real-world treasure hunt

Bottom line: Kids learn problem-solving, teamwork, and mapping skills, but the site doesn’t provide instruction or explanations for most of those topics; educators will have to fill in the gaps. Grades: 7–12 Price: Free, Paid

Sid Meier’s VI

Best entry in classic strategy series might not be best for classrooms

Bottom line: As with all games in this series, Civilization VI is a great learning experience with the right support, but older, cheaper versions may be more practical for classrooms. Grades: 7–12 Price: Paid

Surviving Mars

Colonizing Mars is in our future, but why wait?

Bottom line: Lots of potential and perhaps much better in a year or so of updates; use this in a class about space exploration and the harsh realities of colonization. Grades: 7–12 Price: Paid Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

Slow but alluring game uniquely depicts how folklore shaped America

Bottom line: While it's not perfect, it could serve as a nice complement to a unit on American folklore or as a way to inspire students to write their own tall tales. Grades: 7–12 Price: $19.99

Garry's

Complex physics sandbox is daunting but rich

Bottom line: This physics sandbox ramps up the complexity but not the usability, leaving it up to the right teachers and students to unlock its benefits. Grades: 8–12 Price: $9.99

Political Animals

Charming political campaign sim mixes data analysis and civics

Bottom line: It's a highly entertaining and surprisingly deep way to help students see the strategy -- as well as ethical choices -- involved in elections. Grades: 8–12 Price: $14.99

Roblox

Popular game development platform has classroom potential

Bottom line: Teens who love gaming can learn to be developers, too, with Roblox's tools and hosting service. Grades: 8–12 Price: Free, Paid

Attentat 1942

Emotional WWII game deftly explores the stories of survivors

Bottom line: An absorbing experience that'll motivate students to piece together a family's story of survival during Nazi occupation. Grades: 9–12 Price: $10.99

Gone Home

Compelling narrative game fosters empathy, self-reflection

Bottom line: If you're searching for a unique way to analyze storytelling from a social and emotional angle, look no further. Grades: 9–12 Price: $14.99 Kerbal Space Program

Design and launch a rocket into space in realistic astrophysics sim

Bottom line: This accurate rocket sim encourages trial-and-error learning and makes for great (and often explosive) physics and engineering experiments. Grades: 9–12 Price: Free to try, Paid

This War of Mine

Strategy game offers superb, mature take on war and civilian survival

Bottom line: A stark portrayal of civilian life in a war-torn city that requires strategic thinking and invites repeated plays. Grades: 9–12 Price: $19.99

Everything

Philosophical game invites students to ponder everything's existence

Bottom line: Meaningful and humbling take on interconnectedness, but in that existential sort of way that's highly individual and potentially hit or miss. Grades: 10–12 Price: $14.99