During ISTE earlier this month, we had a chance to check out a whole bunch of educational games. Some better than others. The educational gaming space is sort of a strange market. There is clearly a goal behind all of the games – some sort of knowledge building or retention. However, many of the games are little more than dressed up math or logic problems. Kids have no problem seeing through this. For as young as the target users are, children are really sophisticated gamers. So, in a nutshell, these games end up being worthless as kids can see right through them, and lose interest.

During ISTE, we had a chance to speak with Dan White, the Executive Producer of Fillament Games. Dan echoed a lot of the points above, and told us that Filament Games makes a concerted effort to avoid these sorts of things. Yes, Dan noted, the goal is to get kids to learn, but there is no reason why they can not learn and have fun at the same time. You can see this approach in action in Filament Games’ newest offering: PLEx Life Science.

PLEx Life Science Suite is a really creative approach to educational gaming, and serves as a perfect example of Filament Games’ methods. The suite contains four main games, and two bonus games. All of these games are incredibly engaging and fun. From piloting a shrunken ship through the human body, to taking control of the growth of a flower, to collecting fossils, the PLEx Life Science Suite is a great way to keep kids engaged in the learning experience.

Here is a good look at the PLEx Life Science Suite. Check out Filament Games for more info and other games: