Today there is a great deal of interest in and a lot of hype about using video games in schools. Video games are a new silver bullet. Games can create good learning because they teach in powerful ways. The theory behind game-based learning is not really new, but a traditional and well-tested approach to deep and effective learning, often represented in the best problem-based and project-based learning. Games are well designed experiences in problem solving. This article discusses how good video games do teach, but stresses that the things they do teach could be learned without the use of video games.