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 puzzles 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 puzzle 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 adventure game 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 Human Resource Machine
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 (Steam)
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 Civilization 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 Mod
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