In a game forum I am a member of, a question was posed regarding how to incorporate ethics and morality into the game.  What can be done to incorporate those things–since many games are abstracted…wargames turn units into mathematical values, etc. so that an SS unit is reduced to being ‘2 points’ better than a corresponding Soviet unit–completely missing out on what the SS represents in terms of brutality and evil.

Into the discussion, someone mentioned a game called “The Cost”.  It’s about business expansion and profits–and asbestos.  He provided a review of the game:

THE COST REVIEW

It is worth reading–because it shows how things like morality and education can work into games even on a subject like asbestos (which still kills 20-30,000 per year in the US).  For games to succeed in the classroom–for games to work as tools of education, we have to be able to illustrate points and lessons, force the players to come to terms with reality rather than abstract it or ignore it.