Great! We love gamers at Fidgets2Widgets! They already know how great video games are. But if we ask you to picture a gamer in your mind, the image that might come to mind is based on a lot of unflattering stereotypes, right? Society has a twisted idea of what gamers are—lazy, lives at home, plays violence-saturated games…the list goes on. But like most stereotypes, exaggeration and caricature have created an image that is false. When gamers balance healthy screen time with physical activity and games that mentally stimulate them, their potential is endless.

When we started Fidget2Widget’s we sought to create an environment that would take advantage of our children’s passion for games and nurture it. The first step was finding games that were entertaining, but that also gave players skills that transfer into real life.

Not all games are created equal. There’s a huge difference between a first-person shooter game and a first-person puzzle game like Portal. One is violent and one presents the player increasingly complex puzzles to solve that promotes creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.

Another example: Minecraft. It’s called a sandbox game because, like a sandbox, the possibilities are limited only by the limits of your imagination. It reinforces many valuable skills without children even realizing it—math, architecture, design, economics, engineering. We’ve seen Widgetarians work together to build entire cities from the ground up. The teamwork and creativity Minecraft encourages is boundless, which is why we use it as a core teaching tool to reach kids where their interests are and give them the skills they will need as adults.

Fidgets2Widgets provides an environment that encourages productive gaming passions, healthy screen time, and physical activity to foster a new generation of gamers. It’s these gamers that will become the next Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

From Minecraft to Portal to Stardew Valley and beyond, the educational opportunities games offer children is limitless. Whether Widgetarians are playing Minecraft on our private server or solving complex puzzles with Machinarium, we will make sure they do so in a way that will make sure they grow into good digital citizens.