What serious games exist for people ages 13+? What can we learn by playing these games?

Below, I have a couple of serious games I "stumbled upon" in my frantic search as I enter the world of "gaming". At 53, I really don't have much time for entertainment on the computer with "fun gaming"...I'm too busy living : )...but, I am always looking for inventive ways to help my students learn....so, I'm really open to this concept of serious gaming as a prospect.The first game I found is called "Creditability Game" and is a serious game helping students gain a better understanding of the financial world they will be entering. The game helps students learn about money, borrowing and spending. It looks pretty good (haven't had a chance to play since I am in a "data only" location this week). The game takes place in 4 locations: a college, a mall, TV studios (why, I don't know), and a small village. The game is free and can be found at:

 http://www.experian.co.uk/creditability/play.html#sthash.UJ222CAX.dpuf

As a math teacher who teaches abstract math as well as business math, it is difficult to make students believe that the skills they are learning could ever be useful in "real-life".  The game "Creditability" seems to help students use their math skills in a way that can be really useful and profitable to them outside the educational realm.

A second game, developed by Chrysler, is called "Road Ready Streetwise" and is a game which teaches teens to drive. This game is also free for download with the purpose to teach teens lessons of the road BEFORE they get behind the wheel.
Here is the link to play:  http://www.ramtrucks.com/chrysler/games/wild_tangent/rrt_streetwise.html
In Alaska, it can be pretty scary seeing 14 year olds behind the wheel taking their lives, and mine, into their hands.  There is so much to learn in order to drive safely and this game helps students to better learn the rules of the road BEFORE they are actually on the road.

A final game I looked at was really intriguing because of the ongoing conflict between the Palestinians and

Israelis. The game is called "PeaceMaker" and was developed by a group of both Palestinian and Israeli students. The game is $20, but a demo can be played at: http://www.peacemakergame.com/demo.php

What interested me about this game is that it centers around real events. The player is the leader of either Israel or Palestine and forces students to learn about real events to make decisions. I like the idea of this game since students seem so disinterested in world events that don't directly affect them and this is a way to involve them and educate them in what is happening on the other side of the world.

That's it...my 3 serious game findings.

Many ideas that were brought up in my above comments about how the games I listed could be helpful, but in a broad sense, I think serious games can take the mundane and make it exciting and interesting.  Isn't that what we try to do as teachers?  Don't we try our best to make learning interesting and "real" so that we can keep the attention of our students?  Let's face it, students don't learn if they are not engaged and listening.  I am not saying that we need to entertain students in order for them to learn, but serious games do seem to use the technology available to us today and use it to help keep students excited about learning.

I wrote the following to Sara Hartman and decided to include it in my original post:

As I researched these games, many have said that the games don’t really help students because they give them a false sense of power…that they really can change their worlds.  But I disagree.  No, 99.9% of us are never going to be in places or positions to change the big, whole wide world, but we can change the world we live in, be it the village, our schools, or our families.  Both students and adults can learn they can make a difference and be courageous enough to make changes as well as be empowered and given the tools necessary to do so by playing serious games.  It’s kind of like using a textbook to learn the theory, then applying that theory to “real life”.  Gamers are learning the “theory” by playing the games, then applying that “game theory” to real life…sounds kind of weird.

Gary