Videogames Good? This I gotta see!

As a proponent of non-violent-specific videogameing, I've started getting tired of hearing people demonize ALL videogames EVERYWHERE.

As a result of this repeated offence, the article I just read came as a breath of fresh air.

I don't know many people who would argue against games like checkers, chess, backgammon, and mancala. All these games teach strategy and problem solving. But I've always been supportive of taking this argument yet another step further and defending games like TowerDefence, Creeper World Training, and, especially, MineCraft. These games don't just teach strategy (indeed, the "strategy" portion of MineCraft is minuscule) but they mainly teach spatial orienting.

When MineCraft exploded on to the world just a few years ago, people didn't start playing it just because it was "fun". More often, they played it because it allowed them to use virtual LEGOs (another activity which has been praised for teaching spatial orienting).

Videogames like this can allow children to truly experience "fun" and "school" in the same setting, something I've always said is essential to learning.