My nine-year old son Deal says that people who want to grow up to be President should play Quandary first. He thinks it teaches important skills like listening, weighing other people’s opinions, changing people’s minds, and finding a solution that helps the most people. Well, since Deal has played Quandary and is first generation American, I say Deal for President!!! In 2040, that is.
Quandary is a video game that is all about making ethical decisions. It sounds heavy, but it’s not. The game itself is quite engaging, and the variety of personality types you encounter is spot on to real life. A bonus for my sons is the ability to create your own characters. I played Quandary with both Bird (age 11) and Deal (Age 9). The game presented lots of questions and what-ifs. It’s low on action but high on thinking, just my speed. I like that our maneuvers sparked conversation, and the lessons learned are transferable to everyday life. The best part for me is that there is no winner per se, but a champion who makes the best decisions for his community.
This is educational gaming at its finest.
The nuts and bolts:
- For kids age 8 – 14, but older players will likely enjoy it too.
- Available online at http://quandarygame.org/ and in the App Store.
- Focus is on rewards and consequences, something I’ve been trying to teach all 11 years of parenting! Players develop skills like critical thinking, perspective-taking, and decision-making. The beauty is that there is no surefire right answer, and Quandary provides a framework for how to approach ethical decision-making without telling players what to think or do.
- Quandary has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Games for Change Game of the Year.
We talk an awful lot about critical thinking skills and over test the hell out of our kids to prove its worth, but no one devotes any time and energy to teaching ethical thinking skills. These aren’t just the “soft” skills or emotional intelligence my corporate training stabbed into my head in the 90s. Quandary helps players develop ethical thinking skills, like reasoning and understanding. Players approaching situations with a reflective attitude impacts behavior rather than the traditional video game MO of shoot ’em up and take over to win. My sons get plenty of traditional gaming so it’s cool to balance that with learning, um, I mean playing. Sshssh…don’t tell them they’re learning lifelong skills while playing Quandary. That’s not an unethical secret, is it?
This was a compensated opportunity to play and review Quandary in partnership with The Mission List. All opinions are my own.