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Get Smarter Games

Dim

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There exist so many different games to try and so little time. I need games that pay back into the real world more than just with fun. So my latest cataloging effort is of games that make their player smarter somehow. Artsy creativity, historical sims and hallmarks of culture go in different lists. Unfun edutainment has no place on any decent list. Every planning challenge based game trains basic problem solving deduction. For this list and thread, I want games that do more. Examples:

Cosmic Supremacy teaches a directly usable skill; basic bot programing.
Democracy 3 shows a problem solving method; See complex systems as a web of cause effect.
Achron completely explores a mind challenging concept; Time travel paradoxes.
King of Dragon Pass induction instead of deduction.

The list so far:Edit:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF64FEABCA618B4AC
 
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Dim

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First sound like unfun worktainment. Then i think it big complicated puzzle/simulation with many rules player learns in absorb-able pieces and should be in 4th list. Stuff like powdertoy and other physics simulation sandboxes there. Then i think it first good worktainment and MUST be on THIS list so its in.
 

Grimwulf

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Dominions (any part) is actually a badass encyclopedia of world religions, mythology, cults and superstitions. My knowledge of different cultures and their history increased VASTLY over years of playing Dominions 3 and 4.
 

KoolNoodles

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Civilization is an obvious jumping off point to learning about history, and the encyclopedia included in Civ5 is not terrible, even if you said historical sims was for another list.

So in that case, what about SpaceChem?

Also Kerbal Space Program, for all that it involves with rocket construction, physics, etc.
 

Dim

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My deity can pwn your deity any day. Civ and Dominions are both a bit tangential and belong in "historical sims." "Historical sims" include stuff like WoT and non-historical but useless skills like Surgeon Simulator. KSP is in 4th big sim sandbox category with POWDERTOY. Playlist
Now what about spacechem? I am asking for specifics.
 
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Spacechem is a logical puzzle game that has very little to do with actual chemistry. It does teach a bit about limited (2-way) parallelism, synchronization, and splitting complex tasks into smaller units.
 

Norfleet

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Just about every game is about getting smarter, it's just a question of how you approach it. If in doubt, remember: NO FUN ALLOWED. The moment you're having FUN, you're not getting smarter. The point of playing a game smart is sucking all the fun out of it.
 

Turrul

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I learned a few things by browsing around dynasty histories in CK2.
 

Dim

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Turrul

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Are you sure CK2 is better than EU4?

Well, I played EU4 and it was kinda boring, I'm thinking of trying EU3 (My backlog still has Victoria before it though). CK2 is probably the easiest of the bunch sure, you can figure out there was a Iconoclast tension in Eastern Roman Empire by browsing the title history for example.

The game gave me a lot of headliners to do a quick search in Wikipedia or going my Uni library to browse around some books. Otherwise I'd never have learned that Sassanid pretenders ran off to China after Muslim Conquests, or how Egypt population was Christian even after all those years of Muslim rulers for instance.
 
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Hobo Elf

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Dominions (any part) is actually a badass encyclopedia of world religions, mythology, cults and superstitions. My knowledge of different cultures and their history increased VASTLY over years of playing Dominions 3 and 4.

Yeah isn't one of the devs a history professor or something? Dom factions are really badass. Then they add the different ages and how the factions have evolved, splintered etc. oh god cover me in syrup.
 
Unwanted

CyberP

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This thread should be in general gaming, because there are games that are not strictly strategy games that are highly entertaining & educational, or edutainment.
 

Grimwulf

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Dominions (any part) is actually a badass encyclopedia of world religions, mythology, cults and superstitions. My knowledge of different cultures and their history increased VASTLY over years of playing Dominions 3 and 4.

Yeah isn't one of the devs a history professor or something? Dom factions are really badass. Then they add the different ages and how the factions have evolved, splintered etc. oh god cover me in syrup.

IIRC, one of them is history professor, the other one is religion-culture-thingie expert. And both of them can do some nice coding. And yeah, one just can't get enough of Dominions.
 

Dim

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This thread should be in general gaming, because there are games that are not strictly strategy games that are highly entertaining & educational, or edutainment.
Yes. Now that you said it... do i bug a mod or just post a new thread in general?

hgs > dominons for CK2 over EU4 get one more fan to vouch
This post brought to you by Lindt 85% cocoa bar.
 

Higher Animal

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Caratula%2Bcompleta%2BStarcraft.jpg


http://www.geek.com/games/science-s...o-stop-wasting-your-time-with-school-1568523/

Also:

_-Virtua-Fighter-4-PS2-_.jpg
 

Humanophage

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Are you a programmer? Why is bot programming directly useful, and why is it challenging to the mind when history is not?

I am growing skeptical about the potential of games as a learning medium, except when it comes to languages. Most of the directly applicable skills come from extra-gaming activities, such as making mods or analysing your results statistically.

The strength of games is that they are engrossing. It is more difficult to concentrate for a long time on a book, a lecture, or a purposeful activity than a game. It is a good opportunity for rich encoding of information. However, the skills are usually spread so thinly and are so basic that even prolonged exposure does not help much.

The value of KoDP is that it attempts to show how a primitive society operates, but you can read about that on a few pages. I don't see how it pays back immediately in real life. Why does it teach inductive reasoning, and why is inductive reasoning smart?

I imagine Uplink fits the thread somewhat, but I have not yet played it.
 

Hobo Elf

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It's been many years, but I don't remember Uplink being educational at all. It's a game that relies on fast reflexes rather than personal knowledge.
 

Dim

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLHVXf4Z11U this Uplink? What about Darwinia?

At Humanophage: Directly usable skills always trump plain old knowledge but i did move CS far down recently.

The games work for brain training and problem solving. Smarter people win the thinking games, right? So its practice for being smarter.

But unfortunately they are often similar minded tracked and that is both boring and counterproductive to intelligence increase. That is why Kodp is in. That and good "decision density" and "thinking per decision density". In my experience terms, I played many 4x and got into a very specific pattern of problem solving; optimization deduction etc. Playing kodp felt very refreshing without loosing much 4x feels.
 
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Codex 2012 Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Darwinia is really fun and strangely beautiful. Not particularly hard, and in no way educational.
 

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