By Thistle, on August 4th, 2010
In an ideal world there’d be gaming cafés on every street corner and plenty of local players always looking to try out new boardgames and Tabletop RPGs. Unfortunately, this is probably never going to happen, because most cafés can’t afford to set aside enough tables and a great many potential players find it [...]
By Thistle, on March 24th, 2010
The continued success of Sony’s massively multiplayer online RPG (MMORPG) Free Realms is linked to providing their youthful audience with a regular supply of new content. So far, the site hasn’t disappointed and those who can pay a bit extra are now enjoying access to new pets and companions. Dragons which let you [...]
By Thistle, on February 13th, 2010
Not the most common topic for a games blog but our Free Realms playtester felt we should post. As with Halloween and Christmas, Free Realms has put on a show for Valentine’s Day. Hearts, roses, cards and gifts are all over the place.
Running calendar events seems to be appreciated [...]
By Thistle, on October 21st, 2009
We’ve a couple of quick suggestions for Halloween. Our 9-year-old Free Realms playtester has continued to enjoy Sony’s online RPG and some extra content has arrived. There’s a new football/ soccer minigame, which is good fun. There’s also a Halloween season ‘makeover’ that lets players collect ‘trick or treat’ sweets and items, which [...]
By Thistle, on September 14th, 2009
The following future learning opportunities are readily available in a range of games and game formats:
Games offer a ‘testing ground’, where different skills, approaches and risks can be evaluated to build an awareness of consequences, without experiencing the ‘actual’ consequences.
Sims 3 and Sony’s Free Realms can be criticised for [...]
By Thistle, on September 12th, 2009
Here’s our first selection of the kind of ‘future learning’ that we would like to see built into games used for fun and learning inside and outside the home. We’re going to highlight some of what we see as ‘key skills’ and present examples of existing games which offer such skills during play.
By Thistle, on August 3rd, 2009
Sony’s online multiplayer world for kids has grabbed plenty of signups since release. It offers a familiar mix of roleplaying, exploration and arcade games, much like that found in other virtual worlds for kids such as Neopets and the BBC’s Adventure Rock. Unsurprisingly, a major developer like Sony doesn’t find it hard to [...]
