Rate With Friends: Top 5 Educational Computer Games of the 90s

Anyone who was a child in the 1990s likely had the joy of playing educational computer games at school or at home. From kindergarten through fifth grade my school had "computer lab Fridays". We got to learn how to use computers and play some awesome games in the process. But which among those educational games were the best? Andrew from Yes, These Things Matter is back once again - and that means it's time to rate with friends!

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Andrew -
Treasure Mountain!

My big memory of Treasure Mountain was being unable to climb up a series of ladders because some bastard would always appear out of nowhere and push you off. To be honest, I don't think I ever got past those damn ladders. And even worse is I think that stupid king guy found his way into my subconscious, because he's definitely popped up in some of my dreams over the years. It was only when researching videos for this write-up did the memories of this game come flooding back to me. Weird, bouncing elves. That creepy king guy. Math. Stuff of nightmares, I tell you.

The Ocotillo Kid -
Treasure Mountain!

Treasure Mountain brought me many great memories as a kid. The Master of Mischief sits atop the mountain donning his stolen crown, and the player must collect treasures on their way up to defeat him. Each level of the mountain is populated with irritating elves that can be caught with a net, and given that the player can answer a trivia question, a hint is given as to the location of a treasure. Simple, repetitive, but oh so fun. There was even a leaderboard which rated players based upon their all-time treasure count. Needless to say, it led to some fierce competition with my friends.

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Andrew -
JumpStart: 4th Grade

The Jump Start series basically defined my early gaming years, specifically the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade editions. They were basically adventure games, each with their own specific genre: 3rd Grade was science fiction, 4th Grade was horror, and 5th Grade was spy thriller/noir. All three I remember fondly, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Jump Start 4th Grade. The player would make their way through a gloomy forest, filled with ghosts and a bat that talked like Peter Lorre. Along the way, you would have to solve puzzles so that you could eventually save your friends from the evil witch who had turned them all into monsters. The game actually had a decent atmosphere to it, so not only were you learning a thing or two, you were a little freaked out as well, which was a neat trick.

The Ocotillo Kid -
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis

The Zoombinis game was a hair-pulling series of puzzles and riddles presented behind the guise of some seriously sharp art direction. At the beginning of the game you get to hand pick the facial features of the zoombinis in your party, making it that much more heart rending as they slowly die with each of your puzzle-solving failures. And who could forget the awesome grandfatherly intro narrator?

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Andrew -
Oregon Trail

A list of my favorite educational games wouldn't be complete without the inclusion of the classic Oregon Trail. Truth be told, I'm not sure I ever really learned anything substantial from this game; I was too busy having fun crossing rivers, mowing down buffalo, and watching party members die of dysentery. I actually still own a CD copy of this game, and I tried playing through it again about a month ago. Sure enough, it didn't take long for my party members to start getting sick, and despite devoting all of my efforts to keep them alive, they still ended up six feet under. Damn you, Oregon Trail, damn you.

The Ocotillo Kid -
Oregon Trail

Back in kindergarten, Oregon Trail was the first game I ever got to play at school. I have many great memories associated with it. At the time, I understood so very little of what it meant to plan a cross-country wagon trip, but I never let that inhibit my travels. You want to buy 10 oxen and 100 wagon wheels with no other supplies? Go right ahead! You want to shoot 950lbs of game even though you can only carry 20lbs? Slaughter away! You want to treat Angela's dysentery with a cold compress? Sure! It was these freedoms that made the game so fun; I should note that it still is just as fun today.

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Andrew -
Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo

I'm not 100% sure the Putt-Putt series can technically be classified as "educational". It's really more of an adventure series for children, but I do remember certain puzzles that required some serious brain activity. Like all adventure games, there were some strange leaps of logic, and some moments really tested the mettle of my 5-year-old mind. It was also one of the first series I ever played that was more than just learning the alphabet and counting numbers (My alternative pick here would have been Donald's Alphabet Chase, and I don't think I could have lived with myself had that made my list). Even though Putt-Putt journeyed as far as the Moon, the best in the series was Putt-Putt Saves The Zoo. An entire walkthrough of the game is available here. I will admit to watching the entire thing in preparation for this write-up, and I have no regrets. Ah, the memories of childhood.

The Ocotillo Kid -
SimAnt

I genuinely had no idea that SimAnt was "educational" until I was an adult. Little did I know that all I learned about ant colonies, scent trails, and insects came from this game. Not to mention my irrational fear of lawnmowers (just kidding!). In SimAnt, you start by founding a new colony, then progress by expanding your tunnel system, leading the colony to food sources, and ultimately defeating colonies of the dastardly red ants. It's great fun, a great challenge, and holds up extremely well to the test of time.

===== 1 =====
Andrew -
Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?

No question in my mind about this one. The Carmen Sandiego series was pretty popular back in the 1990s, with several different games and even a short-lived television series. For me, the height of the series is the 1997 version of Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?. Like many of the other games on my list, this is basically an adventure game, with the player traveling through a bunch of different time periods in an effort to stop Carmen and her Time Bandits from stealing famous objects and altering history. You started in ancient Egypt, and then worked your way forward through feudal Japan, the Renaissance, and many other locations and times, eventually making your way up to Yuri Gagarin's space flight. In every environment you would get to learn some history while attempting to solve some oftentimes surprisingly difficult puzzles. It was a lot of fun, and over the years I played through it several times. I still own the CD version, and if I could ever figure out how to get it working on a modern system, I'd love to give it another spin. Educational gaming at its finest.

The Ocotillo Kid -
The Incredible Machine

In short, The Incredible Machine is half physics simulator, half Rube Goldberg machine maker. I was a loyal LEGO kid, and this game explores the same notions of construction and engineering that I loved so much. There are numerous pre-made puzzle levels, where you are tasked with achieving a particular goal, but there is also a level editor with which to create your own scenarios. Using all the pulleys, seesaws, rockets, and mirrors is incredibly fun. Truth be told, my sadistic child self usually made machines that smashed or trapped the little men that ran around in the levels.