50 Serious Games for Social Change

As a college student, you might think that all computer games are meant for procrastinating and letting off steam. But these computer games are especially designed to teach you about social issues, from public health to the environment to human rights to poverty. Here are 50 serious (but still fun) games for social change.

Health and Nutrition

These games promote healthy eating, food safety, HIV awareness and more.

1. Killer Flu: Learn how seasonal and pandemic flu viruses mutate, spread and cause chaos.
2. Food Import Folly: You'll play an FDA inspector with "extremely limited resources" challenged with monitoring foreign food imports and food safety.
3. Positive or Not: This game brings awareness to HIV and AIDS.
4. Fatworld: This game explores "the politics of nutrition" and brings awareness to obesity and socioeconomic issues.
5. The Arcade Wire: Bacteria Salad: This game highlights corruption in agriculture and food production, as you have to harvest as much cheap produce as possible while monitoring floods, animal waste and E. coli.
6. Native Dancer Diabetes Game: The Native American community, an at-risk group for diabetes, has created this cultural version of Dance Dance Revolution.

General Activism

Learn how to start your own grassroots campaign by playing these games.

7. Community Organizing: You can play this game in either English or Spanish and practice community leadership skills.
8. Take Back Illinois: This game is sponsored by the Illinois GOP and requires players to address reform in the following areas: medical malpractice, education, grassroots activism and economic reform.
9. Free Culture: Learn more about "the struggle between free culture and copyright" as you fight for free information and communication.
10. Play the News: You'll learn to become more actively engaged in news stories when you play this community game.

Poverty, Debt and Disaster

From poverty in Haiti to recovering from Hurricane Katrina, these games will teach you what life is like in developing countries and ravaged regions.

11. Homeless: It's No Game: This game was created by a student at the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University and challenges players to live life on the street for 24 hours as they encounter cops, drug addicts and more.
12. Debt Ski: Players learn about savings and debt in this game, which stars Piggy Banks as he tries to avoid financial obstacles.
13. Ayiti: The Cost of Life: This kids' game involves the Guinard family and their struggle to make ends meet in poverty-stricken Haiti.
14. Race Against Global Poverty: Learn about poverty-stricken, developing regions of the world in this British game.
15. Stop Disasters!: This simulation game from the UN/ISDR teaches players about tsunamis, drought, floods and other natural disasters, and how to prevent them.
16. Emergency 911: This game is available in Spanish and English and teaches basic first aid and emergency response skills.
17. Tempest in the Crescent City: This game uses Hurricane Katrina as its backdrop. You'll play Vivica Waters as she travels across the city of New Orleans to find her mother, stopping along the way to rescue survivors.
18. 3rd World Disaster: You're a poor farmer struggling to make harvest in the third world as you play 3rd World Disaster.

Nonviolence

These games preach nonviolence as they take you to Rwanda, Uganda, and beyond.

19. A Force More Powerful: This strategy game promotes nonviolence and was developed by The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, York Zimmerman Inc. and BreakAway Ltd.
20. Pax Warrior: Pax Warrior is a game for the 14-24 year-old set and focuses on the UN missions to Rwanda.
21. Traces of Hope: Joseph is trying to reach the Red Cross in Uganda to find out whether or not his mother is alive or dead.
22. Cruel 2 B Kind: Learn how to become a benevolent assassin in this game.
23. Duke Anti-Nuke: Turn nuclear power and nuclear weapons plans into weapons-free and environmentally friendly zones.
24. Global Conflicts: This game tells the story of child soldiers in Uganda.
25. Nukesweeper: In this game, you have to declare nuclear-free zones without detonating any of the 30,000 weapons.

Politics

Get involved with politics and political reform when you take on a leadership role yourself.

26. Activism, the Public Policy Game: In this game, you have to manage 10,000 activists and six public policy issues with very limited resources and support.
27. Ars Regendi: This politics and economic simulation game challenges you to rule over a happy, healthy and prosperous people.
28. Budget Hero: Manage the U.S. budget and learn about social programs, funding and more.
29. Presidential Pong: In Presidential Pong, you'll get a chance to debate the 2008 presidential candidates like Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
30. PeaceMaker: Try to bring peace to the Middle East as a world leader.
31. Balance of Power: This classic game puts you in the role of world leader as you manage armies, cities, and taxes, and try not to let it all go to your head.

Human Rights and Immigration

Here you will find games that promote human rights and social issues in Guantanamo Bay, Beijing, Darfur and more.

32. Darfur is Dying: Choose one of eight characters (ages 10-30) to represent your camp as you forage for water and avoid being attacked by militia.
33. Real Lives: You get to experience life in any country in the world in this game, which is designed from real-life statistics.
34. Points of Entry: This game challenges you to compete for green cards under the real-life Merit-Based Evaluation System.
35. Pictures for truth: Amnesty International's game puts you in the role of a photojournalist in Beijing days before the 2008 Olympics. With your friend Jun Shen, you have to catch as many human rights violations as possible.
36. Against All Odds: Experience the life of a refugee when you play this game.
37. Escape from Woomera: This game is in the final stages of development, and players have to try to escape from the Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre.
38. Guardian of Law: Argue Constitutional law cases and get a first-hand look at how societies are impacted by court rulings.
39. Homeland Guantanamos: You'll have to investigate human rights violations and the conditions at Guantanamo in this game.
40. I Can End Deportation: Play a teenager questioned and followed by immigration officials. If you answer questions incorrectly, you'll be detained no matter what.

Environment and Animal Rights

Learn about endangered animals and discover ways to save the planet here.

41. Windfall: This strategy game requires players to build wind farms to create profitable, clean energy solutions.
42. CNN Planet in Peril: Animal Rescue: Play this action/memory game to save rare creatures from captivity and learn about animal rights.
43. Flower: Try to maintain the balance between urban life and nature in this game.
44. Silverback: Try to keep the gorillas alive as you support and protect their natural habitats.
45. Hold the Meat: Hold the Meat promotes animal rights and vegetarianism.
46. Poacher: You're witness to illegal poachers in this game.
47. Planet Green Game: Starbucks' game challenges players to find ways to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce global warming.

Business

Fight corporate corruption in the oil industry and beyond when you play these games.

48. The Arcade Wire: Oil God: You get to manipulate entire economies and political infrastructures as you mess with oil prices, demand and trade.
49. Horde of Directors: Try to advance your own social agenda with corporate and government support as you fight corruption.
50. Oil Strike: Play this game to act as the new Managing Director of Oil Strike. You have to build oil platforms around the world and make a profits in just 8 months.