PC GAMES

PC games for the holidays? Sounds perfect to me. My house is overrun with stuff from birthdays and Christmases past. I have no room for more stuff! A PC game takes up little space and can entertain for hours. When my daughter was a pre-teen, she spent three hours quietly playing a math adventure game determined to beat it. I was thrilled. She was quiet, entertained and learning all because of PC games.

My daughters younger siblings are now the pre-teens. Her old PC games are long gone and I'm sure wouldn't run on our newer system anyway. So the search begins for what PC games are out there suitable for pre-teens today.

The Nancy Drew series of PC games seems like an excellent choice. Pre-teens love to solve mysteries. (Adults do too. C'mon you know you love CSI) In this series you can interview suspects and solve logic puzzles. Ok a few of these PC games are definitely on my shopping list.

The PC games Zoo Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon 2 will be on the list also. This version allows players to create, run and manage their own zoo. Kids will learn money management and people management, as well as facts about the animals they put in their zoo. As special feature of the 2nd version, children can "wander" their own creation as a zoo guest once they've completed their project.

In my travels I couldn't help but pick up some Atari classic PC games. It's good to be able to just relax and fun sometimes. I couldn't resist these PC games because of the nostalgia. It may be that I play them more than my children, but I doubt it. It will be fun to be able to share some great memories with them. All because of PC games.