Contributed by Cara Hartley, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Although many video games help with hand-eye coordination and improve reflexes, some games definitely outweigh others when it comes to educational value.

While interactive games like World of Warcraft could be construed to help with social skills, and games like Grand Theft Auto and America’s Army train would-be car thieves and soldiers, a conglomeration of educational video games does exist.

Here are the top ten educational video games:

10. Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda games offer puzzles, action, exploration and questing. The player guides the hero of the game, Link, through a multi-level environment with the mission of saving Princess Zelda from Ganondorf, whose evil plot includes world domination. The game requires of its player logic and problem solving skills, and engages the player in critical thinking. Legend of Zelda proves that all video games are experiments in learning, regardless of content.

9. Spore

The objective of Spore is to create and evolve a species over a span of 1,000 years. The bacteria evolve from cellular to intelligent, social organisms, which teaches the player about the origin of life according to the panspermia theory.

8. Risk

Originally a war-themed board game, Risk has recently been adapted into an online video game. The game of Risk teaches players geography and domination skills, perfect for any aspiring world leader.

7. Lego Star Wars

Lego Star Wars combines two childhood favorites – Legos and Star Wars, and adds a third dimension of puzzle solving to the mix. The process of solving puzzles has been shown to improve lateral thinking and cognitive and fine motor skills in adults and children, as well as ward off Alzheimer’s Disease in later years.

6. Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail is a classic video game from the 80’s and 90’s, playable online today, that teaches players about the pitfalls and agonies of pioneer life. Oregon Trail is an exercise in math, history and resource management dexterity, as well as an early introduction to the reality of disease and death.

5. Mavis Beacon

Mavis Beacon is a typing game that provides lessons and drills and allows the player to create his or her own customized typing games. In today’s technology-oriented world, typing skills are a necessary prerequisite for almost any profession, and Mavis Bacon offers a fun and creative means of obtaining these skills.

4. Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?

As the leader of a group of international crooks known as the Villians International League of Evil (V.I.L.E.), Carmen Sandiego travels the globe stealing priceless artifacts. It is the mission of the player to act as an ACME agent in hunting down Ms. Sandiego by uncovering geographic clues. Carmen Sandiego remains a classic learning game, playable today on Facebook.

3. Math Blaster

Math Blaster is an alien adventure game geared towards grade-school learners. Kids become members of the Intergalactic Space Patrol (ISP), and advance through levels as their math skills improve. Math Blaster is the original math-based video game, and has been teaching kids addition, subtraction, multiplication and division for twenty-five years.

2. Jeopardy

Everyone’s favorite television trivia game is now available on Playstation. Jeopardy’s topics vary from geography to history, literature to pop culture. Jeopardy offers an expansive array of information to its players, and encourages smart money-managing habits.

1. SimCity Creator

In the newest version of the SimCity enterprise, players learn how to plan and develop their own city, balance a budget, and deal with various crises as they occur, i.e. natural disasters, disgruntled citizens, and rampant crime. The game teaches players organizational and problem-solving skills, and presents hours of entertainment for those with an omnipotent ambition. The original SimCity is now playable online for free.