Although the use of PC games in the history classroom might be relatively new, the ideas for these assignments and the theory behind their use borrows heavily from a number of areas and combines different pedagogical techniques. Using computer games allows teachers to recombine disparate teaching threads into something novel that will serve history education in a number of ways. In this article, the author explores the significance of using of PC games in the history classroom. The use of PC games in the history classroom can help students think about the relevance of history to their everyday lives, it can help them see the ways in which history gets exploited and sold to them in public, and it can assist them in realizing how history can have an impact on their lives long after they have left formal schoolwork. An educational experience using PC games can sharpen their analytical skills, something useful to them long after leaving the classroom. All of this can be accomplished while bringing an element of play into the work of studying. Teachers should not view PC games as a replacement for any of the already existing large array of teaching tools, but simply as the latest addition to an ongoing effort to present history in ways that enhance connections between what the students learn in the classroom and the ways in which they engage that learning in the outside world. (Contains 14 notes.)