Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth
Venerable Civ series returns to space with a mix of old, new mechanics
Subjects & Topics
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Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth
Pros: Maintains the series's depth and adds new decision-making opportunities.
Cons: Slow mid-game and huge volume of information make classroom use tricky.
Bottom Line: A great text or tool for targeted practice on ecology, politics, and technology.
Apart from assessing what kids learn from free play with the game, teachers can use Beyond Earth within more traditional lessons and units in very specific ways to get kids thinking about a number of academic topics such as biology, economy, geography, government, history, and technology. Teachers can ask kids to observe and log aliens' behaviors, to keep explorers' journals of their exploits, or to experiment with specific play styles so that learners can see the impact of different philosophies on development, diplomacy, and the environment. If teachers can ask, "What can I pull from this game for my classroom?" they'll find Beyond Earth to be equal parts participatory narrative, macro-history, and science textbook.
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is a 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) strategy game for PCs, Macs, and Linux machines. In Beyond Earth, players assume the role of a civilization's leader on an alien planet. Players must help their people develop cities and strategies that help them achieve victory through distinct win conditions such as bringing old Earth citizens to their new home in the stars or by transcending humanity and becoming one with the alien planet's ecology. Wise decision-making is key as a player's choice of faction, construction projects, research, and strategy can provide stacking bonuses that help speed victory. New decision-making mechanics make Beyond Earth feel like an update of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri mashed up with sim upstart Endless Legend.
A single game of Beyond Earth lasts longer than any single class period, making it most useful for learning in targeted, episodic ways. For example, a teacher could ask two students to play in the local multi-player "hot seat" mode while pursuing two distinct strategies. Students could keep track of their decisions and the results of their decisions on the planet and in their societies, and then compare notes and develop hypotheses and conclusions about the relationships between human societies and the relationship between humanity and its environment. Because of the way the school day is structured, this game is perhaps best used as a station or extension for students who want to apply big ideas about governance and civilization in a compelling simulation with some framing from their teachers.
Learning Rating
FINALLY an popular video game that is also educational...no, yes....kinda. Sorta?
"Sid Meier's Civilization; Beyond Earth" is possible the best merge between video games and school. However it will not help your students pass their next ecology,political, or tech test. But it will help your students think, in a way that is much different than any other game out there. After all, this is a game that requires the player to make macroscopic societal decisions that affect the makeup of their nation in both the short term and long term. Players decide which economy best suits their landscape, how to balance industrial progress with environmental preservation, and the cost/benefit of engaging in wars with other nations.
Basically, this game requires the player to make complex decisions, creates complex outcomes, both positive and negative, then have the player deal with this at a macroscopic level. It doesn't cover just one subject, but many different subjects at once. To use this game as a teaching tool within school, in my opinion, does not provide enough educational return for the effort needed by the teacher to create specific scenarios to encourage learning. The games ability for free play is shot, because of the long play times, and the interest level depends on the students interests.