The Game Recommendation For Your Kids thread

For kids in the 4-7 range, mine have loved playing these adventure games on the PC/Mac all available on Steam:

- Zoombinis (2015 remaster of the original Broderbund game)
- The Humongous Games library, including all the Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Spy Fox, and Putt-Putt games. They held up really well, especially Pajama Sam.
- Windosill and Metamorphabet by Vectorpark
- Castles In the Sky (not on Steam)

And then a few others which they played alongside me:

- The Amanita Design games mentioned above, especially Botanicula and Samarost 3.
- Lilly Looking Through (underrated because of its short length)
- Lume and Lumino City by State of Play Games
- The Wallace & Gromit games by Telltale
- Pretty much any Popcap game
- Minecraft, obvs.

My kids 2-7 have all loved playing these games on iPads:
- Toca Boca games, especially the recent "Toca Town," "Toca Beach," etc. games which function basically like huge interactive dollhouses, but also their more unique ones like Toca Nature and Toca Kitchen, particularly for the older set (4-7)
- Sago Mini games, particularly for the younger set (2-5)
- Tiggly ____ games, have some cool interactivity
- Endless Alphabet and Endless Reader as suggested above by Doubtingthomas, also Endless Wordplay and Endless 123s
- Mekorama
- The Tiny Bang Story (a little tricky for my 7 yr old daughter but she's made a lot of progress)
- Fiete and sequels
- Mystery Math Town

On the Wii U, my 5 year old son has largely been playing Lego Batman 3 and Lego Marvel Super Heroes, now by himself but previously with me. He also likes playing these co-op game with me:

- Rayman Legends
- Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
- Super Mario 3D World
- NintendoLand
- Minecraft, obvs.

I have four children and I'm trying to survive by forcing my hobbies on them developing an appreciation of my favorite medium in them.

vlox_km wrote:

I know they're all kind of samey, but any opinions on the best ones? Would definitely do Jurassic Park, cuz he loves dinos. Then probably Batman 2. After that I'm not sure. Maybe Harry Potter or Avengers?

For kids you probably already have the best one in Marvel Superheroes. My littler one (6 now) likes the open world much more than the levels. You might have to play it through yourself to unlock his favorite characters though. Avengers is almost the same in open world and the sound is more annoying. It uses movie clips, and the mixing is just bad so they're very quiet relative to the sound effects. Batman 2 has an open world too, I think, though it's not quite as nice.

Older LEGO games like Star Wars aren't quite as good for playing co-op with little kids because you have to stay together; you can get dragged off cliffs or something when one player wanders off.

I agree with qaraq, Lego Marvel Super Heroes is definitely the best for younger kids. The main difference between its open world and those in Lego Batman (3 in my case) and the other Lego games is that the open world part is truly open and the two characters can go and do things very far from one another without being dragged to one another's locations.

Which means in effect that I can go unlock characters & be productive while my son repeatedly punches bystanders into the concrete with Hulk or swims to the edge of the map & back or gets stuck in the subway tunnels for ten minutes.

+ 1 the first Lego Marvel game. Unlocking heroes in the open world a big plus point for the boy. Avengers not quite so good, but still better for younger kids than the Batman games I reckon, which seemed a little more complex with more puzzling elements. We completed story modes co-op in the Marvel games fairly easily + they kept his interest throughout, but not Batman 2 or 3 where frustration set in + bit bored, if that says anything.

Think for him it was more engaging to switch heroes to progress through levels than the switching of Batman/Robin suits in those games.

Cool, cool. So it sounds like I probably already have the best one for younger kids. So if I get the bundle, it'd be Jurassic World b/c he loves dinos, and whatever other 2 I want. Awesome.

I'm sure I'll have more questions for recommendations. In trying to think of what might be good for my kids to play/see.

vlox_km wrote:

So if I get the bundle, it'd be Jurassic World b/c he loves dinos

Let us know how they get on with that - possible purchase here, if see it on sale somewhere.

My almost 6 year old and I have been playing Marvel Super Heroes, but find some of the puzzles a little obtuse for him to master.

He is really loving Duck Tales remastered, and amazingly can handle most of the game on easy.. even boss fights!

He's been talking up Minecraft, so it's going to be a Christmas present for him.. going with PC version to play on our Steam Link.

What about where to start with Nintendo games for young kids? My almost 4-year-old has liked watching New Super Mario Bros on DS, watching Mario get huge with the giant mushroom and smash stuff.

I have a New 3ds and a Wii (not Wii U). I was debating trying to pick up New Super Mario Bros for Wii. Of course, with the 3ds, I've got access to a ton of virtual console stuff, but it seems like it'd be better to play something together on the big screen.

I'm just in the beginning stages of trying to introduce him to stuff.

Same set up Nintendo wise here First game introduced the boy to was NSMB on the DS at four. Enjoyed it so dug the Wii out of the loft and bought that version too so could play together and still probably the best Nintendo investment to date. Though his goal has always been to collect as many lives as possible, rather than get to the end game, so if your kid anything like him expect to play those early levels a lot!

Also highly recommend on Wii as gaming intro for a young un - Mario Kart, better at it than me tbh. The first SM Galaxy gets less play as solo and tricky in places but still decent. Also the Mario Wii VC games + had the best smile on his face in reaction to Kirby's Adventure on VC. All recommended.

He hasn't got his hands on my 3ds yet because...

Nintendo wrote:

People of any age can use and enjoy the Nintendo 3DS system and Nintendo 3DS software. However, the use of the 3D feature by children aged six and under may cause vision damage. Therefore it is recommended that: Only children over the age of six should use the system in 3D mode.

... and I'd be concerned he would fiddle when not looking and turn the 3D on. Plus tbh it's my fairly new shiny and rather not get his grubby mitts on it just yet, it's mine, mine I say!

That all sounds like good advice. Maybe I'll revisit NSMB on my DS some more. And try to pick up the Wii version. I've got Wii Mario Kart, which should be fun too. Was also gonna try to track down Kirbys Epic Yarn.

I've got both Galaxy games, though that would probably be harder for him to play. Figure a 2d side scroller is best.

Hmm. Kirbys adventure is a good idea too. I'll have to look into that.

And yeah, the 3ds would definitely be a joint activity. I wouldn't just hand that over. This why I thought something on the Wii might work out better. But i do still have my days lite somewhere...

I've personally had better luck with Super Mario 3D World with young kids than with New Super Mario Bros. or other 2D installments. There seem to be more gentle levels in World that don't punish wandering around than there are in NSMB, especially helpful because of losing lives. And I can't understate how much fun Rayman Legends is on the Wii U in co-op, and great with my 5 yr. old who can do touch-screen interactions with the environment while I do the platforming - and you don't have to worry about losing lives.

edit: all of which requires having a Wii U, and it sounds like you have a Wii, sorry. In our Wii days my kids spent most of their time in Wii Sports Resort playing Speed Slice or flying the plane around the island.

Yeah, I'd love a Wii U. But with the Switch around the corner, I'll probably just wait for that. Finally getting back into Nintendo now that my kids are getting a little older.

Thanks for the tips. I could see where roaming around 3D World would work well. Sort of like free roaming around Lego Marvel's city. Fewer hazards and repercussions.

I want to chime in and say that Super Mario 3D World is the perfect game to ease kids into platformers, because you can pick the other player up, and they can even just go into a protective bubble if a part is too hard or scary.

My 6 year old daughter loves Mario, Kirby and Yoshi games. Sunday she was a bit sick so we gave her the 3DS to relax in her bed (otherwise she would still be running around despite her fever). She ended up playing Kirby Triple Deluxe going though the platform levels. I was finishing up some chores when I went back in to check on her she had navigated her way to the "Smash" section of the game and apparently enjoys fighting games now.

My 3.5 year old sat on my lap while I played some Astroneer and she loved it. It was all about 'collecting blobs for her (research items).

I'm now looking to actually find some stuff more suited to her, but I think she needs to learn how to use a mouse first. So far she seems to have a little trouble associating the small mouse cursor (on a giant screen) linked to her hands movement of the mouse.
Anyone know games or sites that I could use to get her comfortable with mouse use? Once I get her skilled up I want to introduce her to Hidden Folks on steam which looks like a cute bit of fun (hidden item game basically).

My son (4) isn't really ready for video games where he has to face enemies, but he had a fun time when I put him in an area of Zelda: Breath of the Wild where there weren't any enemies. He just ran around and climbed stuff and loved it.

Since my computer has continued to be an object of interest for my 3.5 year old daughter, we've discovered that she digs hidden object games but Hidden Folks is a bit too advanced for her to play alone and mouse ability is improving but slowly. She is really loving the browser based game Bobblestitch which is suprisingly good for a free flash based game for young children, but still we need to play together as there is a little reading required.

SO! Anyone know of any well crafted hidden item games on PC or iOS that do not require reading, aren't too hard for a 4 year old and have little to no in app purchases and definitely no advertising? Cos im in the market!

troubleshot wrote:

Since my computer has continued to be an object of interest for my 3.5 year old daughter, we've discovered that she digs hidden object games but Hidden Folks is a bit too advanced for her to play alone and mouse ability is improving but slowly. She is really loving the browser based game Bobblestitch which is suprisingly good for a free flash based game for young children, but still we need to play together as there is a little reading required.

SO! Anyone know of any well crafted hidden item games on PC or iOS that do not require reading, aren't too hard for a 4 year old and have little to no in app purchases and definitely no advertising? Cos im in the market!

Sounds like a unicorn if you ask me.

Honestly, your best bet is probably browser-based flash games. I'm not sure about iOS because the kid didn't care for hidden object games, but instead spent most of his time drawing/coloring in different free apps.

At that age, my son and I spent a long time playing on Starfall

It looks like they have a free iOS app that includes many of their web-based flash games for little fingers.

I haven't tried the app but it might be worth checking out.

My daughter turned 3 in February. I'm on the verge of pulling the Atari out of the attic and having that be "her first console".

Thoughts? (aside from how bloody awful it will look on our 65" UHD TV)

My wife reckons she's not ready for it. I reckon she totes is. She's been playing kids iOS games for a year at this point, and is competent with a touch-interface. I figure the simplicity of the Atari controller (paddle or stick) will be an easy in to getting her adjusted to controllers. I've let her play a couple of modern-controller games, but carefully selected to require only a single stick input with no buttons, and have no fail state (Cube & Star is the main one I'm thinking of).

Clearly, I'll be judicious about game selection on the Atari too. Empire Strikes Back is out - Pong, Breakout and Space Invaders are in. Any other ideas for good options? Honestly, I can't even remember what other carts I have up in the loft.

Far too hard for a three year old.

Try it and see. Nothing to lose.

jrralls wrote:

Far too hard for a three year old.

Gravey wrote:

Try it and see. Nothing to lose.

Suspect you're both right. To JR's point though, I'm not expecting her to complete Pitfall, I'm expecting her to poke at the simplest games for 10 minutes, make the coloured shapes on the screen move, then get distracted by something else shiny. Because 3-year olds.

The back story to this is that I have this T-shirt.

IMAGE(https://cdn-shop.threadless.com/subs/big/186844.gif)

She's been asking about it every time I wear it for the last few weeks.
"Are dey space inwadings, Daddy?"
"Why are dey space inwadings?"
"What is the gween one doing?"

Yesterday when I got home from work, she asked if she could play a game. So I booted up a kids alphabet game on my phone and handed it to her. "No, Daddy, that one", she said, pointing at my t-shirt.

Gravey wrote:

Try it and see. Nothing to lose.

This! My kids got some enjoyment out of playing games with me well before they became any good at them. Then today I come home and they're building stuff in Minecraft together (7.5 and 5).

My wife and I have 4 kids (8.5, 5, 2.5, and 6mo) and in addition to the usual slate of games - we decided to start making our own. I've always loved playing and tinkering with mechanics, so I thought why not do something for my kids amusement?

One problem that we have in Canada is that the cold weather can often leave the kids cooped up inside for long stretches of time. Its a recipe for cabin fever, and leaves them irritable with a restless, sometimes destructive energy. We decided to do something to direct that energy, or at least expend enough to relax them and make things a bit more manageable.

We came up with Go Fish Fitness, based on classic rules where the kids compete to make matches and force everyone else to do the exercise. Our kids loved it, and after a good 10-15 minutes of jumping up and down, they played much nicer together.

Give it a try with your kids, we are also running a kickstarter to produce a high quality printed version that you can check out at www.tricorngames.com/kickstarter - it ends April 6th.

All the best!

I bought Minecraft for my 7 year old a few weeks back, she got bored of survival mode, so I put it into creative mode and she is having a good time with it.

She's really getting good at using the PS4 controller, although its funny to watch because she mimics the controls with her own body, so she starts off on the sofa and ends up covering almost the entire room, I have to tell her repeatedly to come back from the TV as she will end up inches from the screen.

Minecraft seems ok, she loves the building and spawning animals, but I think she would prefer something with a story that gives her some direction in the game.

Jacknine - Try her with Journey or Abzu. My 6 year old has played through them both and loved them, was great to watch too.

There are a couple very minor jumpy moments in Abzu, but a bit of reassurance and fine.

My 7 year old daughter has been gaming some. Interestingly, she seems to like simulators (run this horse farm! take care of these dragons!) but she's also expressed some interest in Minecraft. I thought that might be a good summer activity for her, but I'm totally ignorant of it. What's a good way to get her started? I see the municipality where I work has some classes of some kind... is that a good way to go?

Jonman wrote:

My daughter turned 3 in February. I'm on the verge of pulling the Atari out of the attic and having that be "her first console".

Reporting back.

We had a brilliant 4 minutes of fun before she lost interest. Which felt about right.

Jonman wrote:
Jonman wrote:

My daughter turned 3 in February. I'm on the verge of pulling the Atari out of the attic and having that be "her first console".

Reporting back.

We had a brilliant 4 minutes of fun before she lost interest. Which felt about right.

4 minutes sounds about right. And that includes the time it took to swap out the discs for Mario Kart, New Super Mario Bros, Wii Sports...