Games are awesome. I was raised on role playing games. Board games. When computer games became a thing, we had SimCity, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Math Blasters… As I grew up, we did more board games, but not really the normal ones. Yes, I can play chess (not great, but I know how to and I enjoy it), but I don’t much care for Risk or other ‘standard issue’ games. In recent years, we’ve been enjoying Pandemic (even my 7 year old can play), Catan (we have a kids’ version for him), Munchkin (especially treasure hunt-perfect for little kids), Fluxx, and pretty much anything else we can interest the kids in. We have OutFoxed for the kids, also awesome. Oh! And Abducktion. Super funny. Games are awesome learning aids, especially for gifted/neurodiverse kids and families… which describes us for sure! My own kids are experiencing role-playing games in the form of Magical Kitties Save the Day, a cute and kid-friendly game put out by Atlas Games. It’s a challenge for my 7 year old, but it’s imaginative, cooperative, and age-appropriate, which D&D wouldn’t necessarily be
I like computer/electronic games, though I can’t claim particular skill at most. I enjoy Polytopia and Sasquash, but I’ve enjoyed Blockheads, Minecraft, MarioKart, and iterations of Yoshi. I’m not usually one for platformers, though my kiddo loves Geometry Dash and has been teaching himself to build levels which is pretty cool.
Ultimately, I can’t pick a favorite game, and that’s the awesome thing about games. They’re awesome for teaching, connecting, learning, and growing. They’re great for different ages, particularly the cooperative games. And foster creative/divergent thinking which is needed in this day and age as well. I hope you try out some of the ones on this list and let me know what you think! Bonus points if you’re using them with different ages/pedagogical goals! 😉
Actually an Artist 
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