As soon as personal computers went the mainstream route back in the late 1970s, adult buyers of PCs (read: parents) began wondering how they could use the new high-tech tools to teach their children. The prospect of a new educational implementation was intriguing (if not justification for purchase). With the promise of advancing education, schools, too, began buying personal computers by the ton and setting them up in classrooms. To serve the educational market, as well as a strong home market, software publishers began developing dozens of educational game titles during this early part of this era.
Due to an early push by Steve Jobs (once again, the man was ahead of the industry), Apple gained a strong foothold in the educational PC market in the early 1980s. Before long, you could find Apple II computers in just about every school in the United States. This made Apple's platform an attractive target for software developers who often created their educational games for Apple's platform first. Later, publishers would translate the titles to other computer systems, such as the IBM PC, Commodore 64, and the Atari 800. (That being said, many educational titles also originated on every computer platform available at the time.)
In the following story, we've spotlighted ten popular titles from the golden age of educational PC games. By no means is this a complete list. So, when you're done reading through the piece, feel free to discuss your favorite educational PC games and share your memories in the comments section below.