When you come in from working all day on the Farmville, check out Urbanville life in the new online game RETROFITS. Launched by the California software company, Autodesk, it features talking buildings that encourage players to learn the benefits of eco upgrades to our city dwellings.

As the makers see it, “Buildings are the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S,” and we need to make buildings better with sustainable and energy efficient design.

“Don’t just stand there,” they tell us, “Play the game, post your high score, and invite your friends to compete – every little fit helps.”

In other words, follow the Farmville route to creating a cooperative green mentality.

More cooperation is needed on the part of architects, engineers, builders, designers and others in the housing trade. According to ArchDaily, a substantial 8 percent of all carbon emissions in America come from powering our buildings and experts say we can achieve half the goal of cutting down on those emissions 60 to 90 percent by 2050.

Want to get started doing your part? Play the game here and let us know how you like it.

Looking for an interesting, educational, fun and non-battery operated toy for your children? Look no further than OWIKit’s 6 in 1 Educational Solar Building Kit. It’s the latest in a line of solar toys for kids that OWIKit has been manufacturing for a few years now.

The 6 in 1 Educational Solar Building Kit, due for release next month, is designed to teach children (and adults, too) how to use solar power to drive a small motor. Consisting of 21 snap-together parts, the kit allows you to build six different working models – an airboat, a car, a windmill, a puppy, and two different planes.

Priced at about $13.95 each, these kits are bound to be a hit with both kids and parents alike. And parents in particular will love the fact that no batteries are required.

Monopoly offers green houses, but that’s about the only thing green in the classic board game we adored as kids (but never could finish). No one was better at it than my dad, a real estate developer versed in the game of buying what you land on before some other shnook gets it and makes a fat profit every time you visit his hotel development.  What were the lessons? Buy more than you sell, build it up as quickly and as cheaply as possible, and the one who bankrupts his neighbors emerges the victor.

Are there better lessons for our kids to learn while playing board games? I spotted a few eco options while checking out holiday gifts for my girls. Tired of material world tokens like cars, top hats and shoes? Check out the evergreen alternatives I landed on:

Earth Opoly

A natural alternative to the original, in this challenge your property value increases by collecting carbon credits and trading them in for clean air. You might miss taking a ride on the Reading but passing an emissions test is more rewarding than passing Go any day. I love how the pieces and board are made of eco friendly, recycled materials, giving even more integrity to this creative concept. I found it at Eco Wise (shown above).

It’s a Green Life

Designed by a mom named Patty Allen of  Oh Happy Days Games, it contains 52 spaces representing the 52 weeks of the year we can all make a difference. You grow, Patty!

Let’s Save Our Planet

From Earth-Angel Enterprises, perhaps the new Parker Brothers of our generation, it is billed as more educational than competitive as it involves two players (Eco-angels and Schmutzies) in a question-answer game in which trees are awarded for answering correctly.

Bioviva

A game packed with lessons about science, nature and the environment, Bioviva comes in different editions and may be the most heady of all of these recreational diversions and considered one of the new classics in connecting us with Mother Earth.

Bird Watching Trivia and Explore the Great Outdoors

Two games from Uncommon Goods, they cater to our camper spirit, the joy of hiking Half Dome, the thrill of hearing a birdie sing as you pulse your smoothie in that solar blender by the tent.