Argument Wars is in These Lists
In addition to the similar games listed above, which have been linked to this game specifically in the database, you may find games with a similar theme to Argument Wars in the following lists:
Being able to discern between reliable sources and unreliable sources of information is an important skill for children to develop. This starts with questions of trust and authority but then leads to decisions about how we use and share information ourselves.
We've worked with
Childnet International on this list of games that help children and young people experiment with what they should trust and the potential unintended consequences. Childnet International is an online safety charity working with others to help make the internet a great and safe place for children and young people. They believe that the internet is a wonderfully positive tool for children and young people. Childnet are also part of the UK Safer Internet Centre and organise Safer Internet Day in the UK every February.
Some of the games, like
Thousand Threads, either put them in a world where what people say and believe impacts the other characters. Other games, like
Headliner, put the player in charge of information so they can see the consequences first hand of its misuse. There are even games, like
Papers Please, that enable the player to police who is and isn't allowed access to information or even access to the country.
As Childnet write, "Critical Thinking is an important skill that we need in order to navigate the internet safely and find the latest news headlines or facts and information. With the amount of content that is online sometimes it’s quite easy to be reading something that is inaccurate without realising."
These games each provide different ways for players to develop critical thinking. They provide a space where trust and authority can be experienced first hand, and where the negative and positive consequences of how we handle these topics play out.
All games offer you agency. You can win or lose. You can complete them or stop at any time. But there are some games that offer a story that genuinely branches. Where you end up will be different from other players. This not only makes your actions really matter but also gives you a reason to play them again.
Setting aside games that evolve through simulation, or games where once you die it's game over, these branching narrative games tell a story that ends in a certain way because of the choices you made.
Video games and work don’t usually go together. Not, that is, unless you work in the video game industry. The
Safe In Our World charity addresses this world of work and video games to foster positive mental health wellbeing and deliver support for players, developers, publishers and retailers.
“The worlds we create are a refuge for many,” they say about video games, to highlight the importance of also looking after those people who make these amazing spaces. They have some excellent resources available for free and global helplines for a range of emotions and stresses people might be feeling, not to mention some great training resources for companies. Most recent is their
Level Up campaign that challenges businesses within the video games industry to unite and commit to change.
The games in this list offer space to reflect and escape work for a while. But not only to get some distance, but to play something that shines a light on why we do what we do. Some address the world of work directly, while others enable us to consider our choices about how we spend our working hours.
Whether it’s escaping for a lunchtime walk with
A Short Hike. Trying to manage crunch time with
Going Under, or not succumbing to Tom Nook’s invitation for ever bigger mortgages in
Animal Crossing, there are lots of games that can help us find some balance.
Other games, like
Coffee Talk and
Neo Cab help us consider the people we serve at work. This might be conversations with customers, but also the other people we work with in the office or workplace we find ourselves in. Like the game
Good Job encourages us to do.
Then there are games that make us aware of our co-workers. Whether it’s collaborating to identify and store stock in
Wilmot’s Warehouse or getting the furniture into the van neatly in
Moving Out, how we work together and treat the people around us is important.
Games aren't only about quick reactions and shooting things. Many games, like the parlour games of the past, are about communication and quick wits. There is a whole group of games that are more about talking to other players than anything else.
These social deduction games put players in an unusual situation to work together to survive. However, one or more participants are secretly tasks with bringing the group down from the inside. These traitors usually need to do this carefully, because being found out means the main group can expel them from the game.
Some of these games, like
Thief Town,
Spy Party or
Unspottable, challenge players to act in such a way that their in-game behaviour won't give them away. Other games in the list, like
Among Us or
First Class Trouble, require players to talk in the real world as well as in-game to build a case against each other.
Like a good crime drama or whodunnit novel, solving mysteries and puzzles is a good way to engage in a story. However, rather than just watching these mysteries while someone else does the heavy lifting, these video games place you firmly in the role of the detective. Gathering statements, sifting evidence and making intelligent leaps of deduction requires care and attention. These investigations makes these games slower than others, but it’s worth the effort each time you find the correct conclusion and move the story on.
These games present you with a mysterious scenario to be solved. Whether with direct puzzles, locations to investigate or crime scenarios to deduce, they offer a unique, first-hand sleuthing challenge.
Success in video games is often framed at the personal level: the last person standing in
Fortnite, achieving high viewership on a Twitch stream, the best player in
Rocket League. However, many video games choose to focus players on a wider view, on working for the greater good of the world in which they live.
Games can develop a deep sense of civic identity. Civics is the study of the rights and obligations of citizens in society. Our civic identity comes from situating oneself within a larger group, often committing oneself to public action. Games give children a chance to try out taking public action within society for the greater good.
This list of games offers space for players to develop a sense of civic identity. We put it together with
Barry Joseph, who has worked in many contexts to empower children to achieve this. Whether at Global Kids, Inc, where he helped youth to acquire leadership skills and engage in efforts to address global issues through the production of digital media, in founding Games For Change, where he worked with video games as a form of youth media, or at Girl Scouts of the U.S.A, where he piloted digital engagement for girls around the country.
There are many mainstream games, not created specifically for education, that are a great way to engage with civic identity. This includes games that invite players to take control of civic space, like
Alba,
One Hour, One Life,
Civilization,
Sim City,
Thousand Threads and
Pine.
Then there are games where civic space is presented as dysfunctional and in need of repair, like
Papers Please,
Not For Broadcast,
Do Not Feed The Monkeys,
Orwell. Other games let you take civic space in questionable or futile directions, like
Headliner: NoviNews,
Beholder,
Bad News and
Photographs Puzzle Stories.
Finally, there are some games specifically created to teach children about civics. The always-growing collection of games from iCivics explore U.S. Government functions, including
Argument Wars,
Branches of Power and
Immigration Nation. There is the novel
Civics! An American Musical that teaches US History through creating a Hamilton-style musical.
Digital Compass teaches digital citizenship through an interactive story and
MP For A Week that teaches children about being an MP in UK Parliament. Finally, the
Democratic Socialism Simulator is a puzzle game where you run for office and then run a country.
In this list, provided by the
LTN (Love Thy Nerd) editors, we bring together video games that have the potential to offer more than entertainment. It starts with 12 with a challenge us to be a good neighbour, and follows with others added over time. LTN exists to be the love of Jesus to nerds and nerd culture, you can read more about them on their
website.
"What if video games have more to offer than just an exciting diversion into a digital battlefield, fantasy war, or alien invasion? While these types of games are certainly the loudest and most financially successful, there are a growing number of games asking important questions about life, the human condition, and even God."
"Our list is not 'Christian' games, but rather a list of games that pose important spiritual questions to those who play them. These are games that provide us with the opportunity to consider what a truly 'spiritual' life looks like by encouraging us to have empathy for the suffering, love for our neighbours and our enemies, and an imagination vivid enough to contemplate a better world."
Journey's understated yet deep mythology, lack of guidance and mysterious ways it brings players together will have players thinking about the course of their own lives.
Dropsy is, on the surface, a silly point-and-click adventure game about a creepy but misunderstood clown, dig deeper and you’ll see this a game that challenges players to love everyone, even their enemies.
Kentucky Route Zero is at its core, about rediscovery, of adventure-game mechanics and modernist aesthetics, of a more spiritual outlook on the physical world.
Gris is a platformer about the stages of grief that highlights the indelible impact of our most sacred relationships.
That Dragon, Cancer is a game where Ryan and Amy Green share their grief and their hope by drawing us not only into their lives but into the common grace of the Christian faith.
Myst, one of the best selling titles of all time, is a puzzle game about the beauty and mystery of creation.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a game about the spiritual impact our most precious relationships have on us.
Wandersong is a game about transforming the world with music. Heroism isn’t measured in bulk or recognition but in the melodic tones of compassion and kindness.
The Last Guardian confronts us with our own self-centredness and challenges us to give rather than merely take.
Pyre is a game about mercy that deconstructs player’s perceptions of winning and losing, encouraging them to see and meet the needs of those who are oppressed.
My Child Lebensborn is a game that challenges players to care for a child born into a fascist regime--this is a game about the power of empathy.
Celeste strikes at the centre of what it means to be a person in all of our messy humanity a wonderful reminder that even when we fall, we are lifted up again through redemptive love, forgiveness, and grace—both for ourselves and for one another.
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