MSNBC offers a new selection of online games related to the news. I’m not a person that spends much time playing video games, but these games have me hooked. The NewsBreaker game is a simple game in which players use the keyboard to keep a ball in play while breaking blocks that contain news headlines. Each broken brick reveals a headline which is linked to the actual news story. If there is a headline the player wants to investigate, simply hit the pause button and use the mouse to read the story.

Applications for Education
NewsBreaker and the other games in the NewsWare Arcade can be a fun way to get students to look at the news. During a study hall period yesterday, I had a couple students try NewsBreaker and they really enjoyed the game. If you have a group of reluctant students playing NewsBreaker for a few minutes may be a way to introduce them to news stories.