Fun Holiday Games With Educational Attributes

The holidays are about spending time with friends and family, enjoying some traditions, and simply having a good time. Depending on your plans or the holiday in question, adding a few holiday games to your celebrations can certainly improve spirits and create memories that will last a lifetime. Whether you want to add some online Christmas games for kids to your day or are looking for some ideas for Halloween games to add to your Halloween party, there are plenty of traditional and video game options available for you to choose from. It only takes a few minutes to find the best games for any holiday occasion.

If you're having a Halloween get together, there are plenty of Halloween kids' games or adult themed Halloween games you can play. Bobbing for apples is an obvious one, as is the old game of blindfolding a player and having them feel different 'body parts' - grapes as eyes, spaghetti as brains, and so on. You can also have a spooky scavenger hunt, but if you're trying to plan out Halloween games for kids be sure that you don't make them too scary. Of course, there are often online themed video games based on Halloween that you can add to your party as well.

Christmas is another occasion that can benefit from the addition of some games. Online Christmas games can get your family in the holiday spirit and teach youngsters about the meaning of Christmas, while some Christmas party games for kids can ensure that your party is fun for everyone. Whether you play themed games like Christmas charades or Pictionary or opt to take it a bit further, there's no question that adding some holiday games to your Christmas season can help improve the mood and help increase everyone's fun, whether you're having a party or just have some family over.

Easter games for kids or Thanksgiving games for kids are abundant as well, and a few seconds looking through some idea online can help give you the best ideas for holiday games that are available. They're great if you have restless relatives over and need a way for kids to let out some energy or if you've been planning a party for the last year, and knowing some of the best holiday games will ensure that there isn't a second at your holiday event that isn't filled with laughter, fun, and entertainment.



View the original article here

Read More

Puzzle Games That Challenge Your Mental Skills

Puzzle games are an interesting way to keep you challenged. These games stimulate you to think, and keep you busy thinking strategically and analytically to help solve a puzzle.

Sudoku is a very famous puzzle game that challenges its players to solve a 9x9 grid with the numbers 1 to 9 bearing in mind that a number does not get repeated in a row, a column or any of the 3x3 boxes that fill the 9x9 grid. This game has various levels ranging from easy to hard, and the simplest form of the game is the 2x2 puzzle, which is suitable even for children.

Another puzzle game which can keep you engaged for hours is the Tower of Hanoi. This is a simple game that has got simple rules. You need to arrange rings from one rod to another using the least number of moves keeping in mind that a bigger ring may not rest on a smaller one and that only one ring may be moved at a time.

A Tangram puzzle is another challenging puzzle that can keep you hooked on for hours. In this game you are given a design and number of shapes. You need to recreate the design from the shapes that you have been given. This game requires the imagination of its player and some analytical thinking in order to get the design right.

Another exciting puzzle game is Reverse. The computer version of this game allows the user to place his piece on the board, following which the computer will play its turn. On the next turn, the user places a new piece on the board and all the pieces that fall in between the old piece and the new piece belonging to the computer will instantly become the user's pieces. The winner is the one who has the most pieces on the board when no more moves are possible.

Jewels Gear is another interesting puzzle game which concerns a number of jewels on a board. The goal of the player is to clear up the board by tilting it.

Hangman is a puzzle game that requires its players to guess a word, and the only hint that he/she is given are the few letters that belong to the word in question. The player can take only a limited number of measures to correctly guess the word without being hanged and losing the game. This game can be played individually as well as between two players.

Puzzle games strengthen one's ability to analyze things and to find logical solutions. They help in slowing down the aging process and is a wonderful recreational tool for those who want to spend the evening playing beneficial games.



View the original article here

Read More

Bubble Games: Pop Them!

The classic bubble game was developed based on a game called Bubbles which was a very popular game. These games are very easy to play, and all you need to do is burst as many bubbles as you can. The more bubbles you pop the more you score. Although this game may sound simple, it is extremely addicting as the player aims to break his own high score each time he/she plays. Individuals of all age groups find this game extremely entertaining and challenging. You can play this game by yourself or compete with a friend to see who scores the most points.

These games do not require CDs nor do they require any special download. You just need to have the flash player software installed, and you can load this game in your web browser and start playing it within seconds.

There are many bubble games available. Bubble shooter games for example, require you to connect identically colored bubbles before you can remove them. You need to be fast and burst as many bubbles as possible before the bubbles touch the ground. A bubble bursting weapon can be controlled using your mouse. Missed shots usually cause the bubbles to come down lower, and if you keep missing, the chances are that you will lose your game.

If you shoot aiming at a particular color, and your bubble hits a wall instead, it usually will bounce. It is important to know this as it can be used as an additional advantage when you want to aim for bubbles that are harder to reach. The bouncing bubble can go and hit the calculated spot.

These bubble games are set in different environments and you can surely find one that suits your taste. Some of the games are set in medieval times where you can encounter dragons. Bubble games that feature certain festivals like Halloween and Valentine's Day can also be found.

Games which require you to burst bubbles rapidly are very interesting and give you a rush of adrenalin as you race against the clock to burst the maximum number of bubbles you can.

Other bubble games are set in a fruity environment and these offer a lot of visual appeal to its players. Games featuring your favorite candies are also available, and you can spend hours collecting delicious treats.

Some of these games can easily be downloaded to your mobile device too and give you hours of fun on the go.



View the original article here

Read More

5 Educational Video Games You Can Play With The Entire Family

Video games don't have to be mindless entertainment. It's now possible to play video games for learning on your TV or on your PC or laptop with the kids. Below are some of the truly cool educational video games on the market today:
1. Tropical Fish Shop - This game lets players be the owner of a tropical aquarium shop. You're tasked with rescuing fish from polluted waters and providing them a good home until someone comes along to adopt them. This game teaches children some of the responsibilities of pet ownership as well as a little bit about taking care of the environment and even some financial sense with the business game aspect.
2. Roads of Rome 3 - This is a real time strategy type game that plays a lot like the Civilization series of games which puts you in the role of a Roman emperor trying to defend your culture from being invaded. Even though it's not historically accurate in all details, this game gives kids insights into how cities used to be constructed and defended and, sometimes, even destroyed.
3. The Three Musketeers - This is a fun game which gets kids into the world of classical literature. This game is packed with fun, combining sword fighting, puzzles, card games, exploration and mystery gaming elements into one expansive package that has you racing up and down the countryside to complete your quest.
4. Secrets of the Vatican - While firmly rooted in the same sort of fantasy as The Da Vinci Code, Secrets of the Vatican also plays off the same actual historical facts as that book and movie, sending players all over the world to pick up pieces of the Holy Lance. You'll be going all over the world to pick up clues and pieces of what's called the Holy Lance and teaches players about geography, world history and actually about the arts as well. Definitely a fun way to kick-start a child's interest in fine culture.
5. Macabre Mysteries- Although it may seem like this game is mere shallow entertainment, it actually pushes those playing to use some critical thinking skills. By challenging you to solve a series of murder mysteries, this game pushes you into a corner that you can only get out of by using your brain. While not educational in the traditional sense of teaching kids facts you will want them to know like other video games for learning, Macabre Mysteries teaches vital learning habits that will come in handy later in life.
These educational video games should serve as evidence enough that video games can be challenging to the brain as well as to the thumbs and the reflexes. This is actually gaming at its best providing real mental challenges as well as being educational on many levels.
With all of the game options available with Blockbuster game channels, Wilbert Haands knows there's something for everyone. Now that DISH has teamed up with Blockbuster video, everyone can enjoy games and online movies.

View the original article here

Read More

Tower Defense Games Require Strategic Thinking

Tower defense games are an exciting sub-category of the games involving strategy.

The aim of the player is to protect himself from enemies and prevent them from reaching him/her by building towers. These towers may be used as barricades and some of them may even shoot at the enemies trying to cross them.

Each game becomes more exciting as a player advances because the enemies get fiercer. The player is endowed additional powers each time he crosses a level. The player can collect points and buy more complex tools to help build sturdier towers.

These games can easily be learnt and it involves the simple strategy-positioning of towers in important locations that will stop the enemies and not let them reach you.

In each round the player can withstand a number of blows from the enemies before he/she finally succumbs and loses a 'life'. If the player can keep the enemies away for the required amount of time and not suffer too many blows, he crosses the level successfully. However, if the number of blows that the player takes crosses a certain limit, then the game is lost.

One of the best techniques of playing tower defense games and winning each time is to create a maze like path that the enemies must cross in order to reach your base. Another helpful trick is to bar an exit on one side, and when the enemies take turn the opposite side, bar that side too. This causes the enemies to keep moving back and forth in search of a break in the path.

Playing these games does not require experience, and all you need to do is device a strategy to block your enemies long enough for you to win your game. Enemies who bypass the barricades can be killed before they reach your 'base'. An amateur player must familiarize himself with the terrain in which he will have to place the towers. Some games have a fixed map, whereas other games allow users to create their own custom maps, and this makes the game all the more exciting.

In order to play this game, you don't need to download any content from the internet. A flash player is all that is required and the game loads in a few seconds. Get it loaded and, you can start playing and have unlimited fun killing your enemies and blocking them from reaching your base!



View the original article here

Read More

Console Gaming Vs PC Gaming

This is a pretty hot topic online, and someone or the other ends up asking this question every now and then. Both the console and PC have existed since decades and this debate has been 'on' since then. But with the rise of the next-gen consoles like the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii, this debate has further intensified and many console gamers have started doubting the future of PC gaming. But even with all the doubts, PC gaming is here to stay, and is definitely better in a lot of ways, compared to consoles...
The PC is Customizable
Unlike its console counterparts, the PC can be customized. Meaning, that it can be fine-tuned to suit a specific budget that someone might have, and therefore you don't really need to shell out huge amounts of money and can still play games. While console prices have skyrocketed over the years, the steady drop in computer parts have made it easier for people to afford a computer. And to top that, if you are not a hardcore gamer, you don't even need a top-of-the-line system to play, even a mid-end system would do just fine while being easy on the pocket. Further, the second point that we are going to discuss literally ends the debate. The fact that...
PC Hardware is Evolving on a Constant Basis
Unlike Consoles, which get a hardware update every 5 years or so. The PC is bombarded with hardware choices pertaining to Graphic cards, ram, CPU and pretty much everything that goes inside. What it means is that the graphics and physics of PC games is evolving on a constant basis and giving developers a chance to push their limits. When it comes to consoles, the publishers and developers know what they are dealing with, and it becomes easy for them to develop titles for the same. Since, the hardware really won't change. But when it comes to the PC, they really can't afford to have any pre-conceived notions, as we all know that computers do come in different shapes and sizes. So, the developers have to be on their toes every time to satisfy the hardcore PC gamer. Plus if you have a computer then compared to a console, you can always...
Upgrade When the System Gets Outdated
This really is the defining factor and is the strongest point that kills the competition. What do you do, when a new console is released and the one that you have becomes outdated? The answer is simple. You either sell it, or keep it with yourself till you can afford to buy the latest one in the market. Now, what if you have a PC and your PC becomes outdated? Again, the answer is simple... You upgrade. The thing is that you really don't need to bother about your system becoming outdated or the parts wearing off. Since, you can always go out and buy new system upgrades for yourself, which saves you the trouble of having to buy a whole new system, which is not the case when it comes to consoles.
I know that this debate cannot end. And gamers will always vouch for the platform that they love, but no one can doubt the customizations and flexibility associated with the PC. There is a reason why developers and publishers have been developing games for this platform since decades, and we should not forget that even today, some of the most visually stunning and groundbreaking games that have ever come out, have been for the PC.
The author of this article Ankan Bose is a freelance editor/copywriter and is the co-owner of a humor blog http://www.crazyweedia.com/. He is an avid gamer and provides freelance writing services for websites and blogs.

View the original article here

Read More