One game for classrooms or large groups of students is "snake in the gutter." It revolves around a designated invisible "gutter" line. Three to four children will be designated as "snakes" and are required to stand along the gutter. The other children stand away from the line and are required to cross the line when the person in charge calls "Snake in the gutter!" If a player gets tagged by a snake, he is a snake in the next round.
If you've ever wanted to catch your kid reading the latest in stock news, the stock market game can be fun to watch over time. The game can be played with several kids or students, making it not only informative but competitive as well. If done in school, the teacher acts as the "broker" who allows the students to buy and sell stocks. Children will use fake cash to buy and sell stocks. The game can take place over the course of weeks or even months. At the end, the person with the most pretend money is designated the winner.
If you really want to keep your kid busy, a scavenger hunt can be ideal. For the parent, the game can be made more or less hard, depending on where you decide to hide the items. It can also be used by teachers in the classroom. One of the ways to make the game more cognitive is to supply everyone playing with clues.
Sometimes parents just need a break while at home. Although many might feel guilty about sending their child off to be distracted by an un-educational game, most won't if the game is intellectually focused. Games such as "Prisoner's Dilemma" focus on game theory, a branch of economics. One of the interactive versions of this game is available at serendip.brynmawr.edu.
Children will compete against a computer. They have the choice of "competing" or "cooperating." Each time one player competes but the other player cooperates, the competitive player gets five coins and the cooperating player gets none. When both players cooperate, they each get three coins. When players both compete, they each get one coin. The end of the game is dictated by an arbitrary "wizard."