Creative Games sans Violence?

jolyon_jnr asks: "I'm looking for games to use in an unusual educational setting: a school within a Juvenile Detention Centre. I don't set policy, so the 'no violence' is a fixed criteria. I want to engage students' creativity and problem solving skills, without using 'boring educational software'. I've thought of Lemmings and The Incredible Machine. What other suggestions can you offer? Please bear in mind that most students have very low literacy levels, but will learn if motivated sufficiently."

Suggestion

[Anonymous Coward]

Try Reader Rabbit! I played it in elementary school. It was fun. Violent anti-social criminals should love it!

Oregon trail.

[Bad_CRC]

Worked great for us oldtimers. :D

Re:Lemmings is "no-violence"?

[dalinian]

Explode? That's not violence, that's just cute! "Oh no!" *dopdopdopdopdopdopdop* :-)

Computer games

[Anonymous Coward]

Are evil. Make them read books instead. Only then will they be free from the spiritual slavery that is the modern world.

Hackers/Atari ST

[Quila]

There was a game called "hackers" or something like that for the Atari ST where you go rummaging through computers of big bad corporation to figure out and stop their world domination plot. It took a good amount of problem solving, and it was fun.

Plus you get to indoctrinate the juvies on corporate evil.

Counter-strike

[Anonymous Coward]

They could play counter-strike and just hide behind cover like the rest of those camping bastards. They'd never experience any real violence except the occasional shot that kills them, but they wouldn't really see that anyway. Plus, they'd learn the important value of hiding from your problems until they go away.

NO!

[alta]

great, just we need a bunch of kids stuck in fantasy land when they get out of the joint. I can see it now, they get released, what do they do?

Go north
go north
go east
pick up stick
beat old man
You've gained experience!
You've looted 3 silver pieces!
Go east
go east...

Re:hmmm

[Unknown Bovine Group]

Now there's a game idea!

SimJail

Do you save up your cigarettes and buy a shiv from Jimmy the Rat?

Or maybe you better invest in some Vaseline in case Big Bubba Love decides you'd make a "damn perty bitch".