The Game Recommendation For Your Kids thread

YouTube Kids is a lot better these days.

Ok... google is my friend.

Family link is much more robust than I thought.

manta173 wrote:

Just got my soon to be 5 year old an actual android tablet as opposed to the fire tablet that's on it's last legs.

He's really good with taking care of it and has good self control with the limits we give him, but I want to set him up his own android account at this point to help control content and whatnot available to him. As this tablet will be less walled of a garden I want to try to get things right from the get go.

He doesn't really watch youtube much so that's not a big issue, but I assume it will become more prominent as time goes on.

Aside from making him a gmail address I will link to mine and add to our 'family group'... I'm not really sure what else to do to separate things out. Anyone got any pointers? Or am I overthinking things?

I use Google Family Link on our kids tablets to give me a lot of info and control over their usage. Works pretty well. Had to setup child Google accounts to get it to work tho. Let’s me install my Android stuff on their tablets but they use their own accounts. Way better than the Amazon kids thing.

My kids would watch YouTube all day long if I didn’t restrict use. At this point they are only allowed a limited time on YouTube kids each day. I do not let them use full YouTube because that always turns into a mess each time we’ve tried in the past. For the minimal channels on full YouTube they like and I approve of I just download the videos and sync to their tablets. I wish there was a way to restrict full YouTube to only channels I approve of as a parent but Google doesn’t agree.

For YouTube, I only allow my kid to watch together with me. There's just too much dangerous stuff that pops up. I also have a plug-in installed that allows me to easily right-click/block channels. The YouTube "Not interested" option doesn't do sh*t unfortunately.

For YouTube Kids, I've found the filter for inappropriate content has improved leaps and bounds and the general quality of recommended content is a bit better than before. As you'd expect though, if your kid likes to watch junk, well, it will recommend more junk.

In terms of controlling channels, you can use YouTube Kids and only whitelist the channels you want your kid to watch. The big drawback is that you can no longer rely on the recommendations algorithm to serve content. The user needs to manually select what channel they want to watch and scroll through a bunch of videos to select one. Which just doesn't work for my kid. Your mileage may vary.

pandasuit wrote:

My 6yo boy, 9yo girl, and XXyo wife are all really enjoying Wreckfest on Xbox Game Pass. It’s just unfortunate there is no split screen.

Wreckfest is a demolition derby / racing game. Pre-COVID we watch the local demolition derby as a family and our relatives sometimes compete so maybe we are a little biased towards enjoying this sort of game.

They are still enjoying Wreckfest but lack of split screen is unfortunate.

Dirt 5 was recently added to Game Pass and has 4 player split screen so now we are trying that and so far it’s a hit. Has easier difficulty levels so the kids can win against the AI.

Minecraft Dungeons continues to be an excellent game as a my first Diablo however they have made a change that is really annoying especially with a game of this demographic. You now have to be online even for local multiplayer. It means that my 6YO and I have to play on my account as his is still set to not allow online play. A minor annoyance but really one that should have been considered in a game like this. Having said that we have now moved onto some DLC as he is still loving it.

My son and I got a lot of miles out of Minecraft Dungeons. Highly recommend.

astralplaydoh wrote:

My son and I got a lot of miles out of Minecraft Dungeons. Highly recommend.

My family played 4 player co-op. Surprisingly, I believe my wife put in the most "extra" hours.

We had a lot of fun with it. Would like to have seen some more interesting dungeon design.

I've had other friends recommend it too.. What's age appropriate for Minecraft Dungeons? My eldest kid just turned 4.

Tonic wrote:

I've had other friends recommend it too.. What's age appropriate for Minecraft Dungeons? My eldest kid just turned 4.

We started at 5 as their first non 2d game. With you in tow though they can button mash away and you’ll get them through.

Does it split screen on PC?

My 3yo enjoys "helping" Boss play Toon Blast and it is THE CUTEST!

My 6yo son and I started playing Human Fall Flat recently. He’s surprisingly good at most of it. It’s a ridiculous physics puzzle platformer. Takes some creativity to get through a lot of it. I’m really enjoying watching him think his way through each puzzle. Sometimes he gets frustrated but we just work through it but so far his frustration never lasts long. I don’t think he could do most of this alone but coop we’ve managed pretty well. It took a while for him to get comfortable with jumping, grabbing ledges, and climbing up. A few times I’ve had to jump to the ledge then grab him as he clings to it and pull him up. That’s worth it for the laughs as I usually end up dragging him by his head.

My 9yo girl and I tried it previously and it didn’t appeal to her so I shelved it.

pandasuit wrote:

My 6yo son and I started playing Human Fall Flat recently. He’s surprisingly good at most of it. It’s a ridiculous physics puzzle platformer. Takes some creativity to get through a lot of it. I’m really enjoying watching him think his way through each puzzle. Sometimes he gets frustrated but we just work through it but so far his frustration never lasts long. I don’t think he could do most of this alone but coop we’ve managed pretty well. It took a while for him to get comfortable with jumping, grabbing ledges, and climbing up. A few times I’ve had to jump to the ledge then grab him as he clings to it and pull him up. That’s worth it for the laughs as I usually end up dragging him by his head.

My 9yo girl and I tried it previously and it didn’t appeal to her so I shelved it.

When do they join the best league in the world?

Mixolyde wrote:

When do they join the best league in the world?

My wife and kids already play RL off and on. The fact that I play it a lot is a detriment to them enjoying it unfortunately. They get frustrated that they can’t play like I do without any practice. It’s hard to explain to a 6yo how much effort it takes to learn free styling in RL

pandasuit wrote:
Mixolyde wrote:

When do they join the best league in the world?

My wife and kids already play RL off and on. The fact that I play it a lot is a detriment to them enjoying it unfortunately. They get frustrated that they can’t play like I do without any practice. It’s hard to explain to a 6yo how much effort it takes to learn free styling in RL :(

You just need to drink more before playing. I definitely understand that frustration, though.

My 7yo asked for Astroneer a couple of months back, and then asked again while it was on sale recently. He seems to like it, and after some effort seems to finally be able to aim a camera reasonably well. We'll see whether his interest dies out after a couple of days. I might have to supervise more, he can get pretty frustrated when he can't figure something out on his own.

Emmes wrote:

My 7yo asked for Astroneer a couple of months back, and then asked again while it was on sale recently. He seems to like it, and after some effort seems to finally be able to aim a camera reasonably well. We'll see whether his interest dies out after a couple of days. I might have to supervise more, he can get pretty frustrated when he can't figure something out on his own.

I play Astroneer with my 4 year old. She watches and makes the decision on where we go next. They just recently added quests than help guide you through the game so make sure your kid is doing those. Make sure they are making tethers and oxygen filters when exploring. Have them make liberal use of beacons.

The single best thing to do is always have a goal. Aim for something they want to do (*build a rocket ship, go to a planet, etc.) and then trace back the steps required to get there. The aforementioned quest system (that has some very powerful rewards) helps a lot with that.

My 6yo daughter started asking for and earning games. She really enjoyed The Lost Ember for PS4 but it was rather buggy. I had to show her how to reload the last checkpoint and the further she got the more often she had to do it. One of the levels she had to start over because it would freeze up in the same spot every time shortly after a checkpoint. She enjoyed it enough to play through it twice though.

mrwynd wrote:

My 6yo daughter started asking for and earning games. She really enjoyed The Lost Ember for PS4 but it was rather buggy. I had to show her how to reload the last checkpoint and the further she got the more often she had to do it. One of the levels she had to start over because it would freeze up in the same spot every time shortly after a checkpoint. She enjoyed it enough to play through it twice though.

Since I haven't mentioned it on this page, I'll mention again that Super Mario 3D World is my favorite dad & kid(s) game ever. The new Bowser's Fury has been a blast with my daughter, as well.

We did discuss Minecraft Dungeons recently - and since that time, my son has started playing it again, followed by my wife!

Have I mentioned Boomerang Fu on this thread? It's currently my favorite couch pvp game to play with my kids.

Today my daughter and I finally tried Moving Out , which is on Xbox Gamepass. It's a lot like Overcooked, but you're movers instead of cooks. We had a good time!

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Today my daughter and I finally tried Moving Out , which is on Xbox Gamepass. It's a lot like Overcooked, but you're movers instead of cooks. We had a good time!

Enjoy that while you can, because it's leaving Game Pass at the end of the month...

Tasty Pudding wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Today my daughter and I finally tried Moving Out , which is on Xbox Gamepass. It's a lot like Overcooked, but you're movers instead of cooks. We had a good time!

Enjoy that while you can, because it's leaving Game Pass at the end of the month...

It is also a free Twitch Prime Gaming game right now. Go claim it before May 3rd.

Lately, the kids and I have been enjoying these:

Brawlout (Currently $1 here)
Shovel Knight Showdown

pandasuit wrote:

My 6yo son and I started playing Human Fall Flat recently. He’s surprisingly good at most of it. It’s a ridiculous physics puzzle platformer. Takes some creativity to get through a lot of it. I’m really enjoying watching him think his way through each puzzle. Sometimes he gets frustrated but we just work through it but so far his frustration never lasts long. I don’t think he could do most of this alone but coop we’ve managed pretty well. It took a while for him to get comfortable with jumping, grabbing ledges, and climbing up. A few times I’ve had to jump to the ledge then grab him as he clings to it and pull him up. That’s worth it for the laughs as I usually end up dragging him by his head.

My 9yo girl and I tried it previously and it didn’t appeal to her so I shelved it.

This game is a gem. It’s a wonderful thing watching a child think their way through these physics puzzles. He’s been playing it by himself more lately with me just watching and occasionally suggesting things. It’s probably not a win for every kid (my daughter still doesn’t care about it) but for my son this is brain candy.

Two-player Cruis'n Blast (Switch) on easy with my about-to-be five year old had him so incredibly excited that he was shrieking with joy all the time and dancing about.

We've already finished all the tracks within just over 3 hours on easy and unlocked most vehicles, so the amount of content seems limited for the price (40 €), but maybe normal and hard will surprise us. At the very least, everything up until now has been an absolute riot.

He has also enjoyed Transformers: Devastation (since I got him started on Transformers before he was even 3), but he only does traversal. As soon as a decepticon turns up, he hands me the controller. Unfortunately, the game is no longer available (except for physical used copies).

Lost Words: Beyond The Page was recently added to Game Pass and my 10yo daughter is really enjoying it.

The official description is

An atmospheric narrative adventure written by Rhianna Pratchett. Set between the pages of a diary and a fantasy story where you run on words and use them to interact with the world around you.

The game takes place partly inside a book where the words themselves make platforming levels and partly inside a fantasy story where words are used as your abilities.

How much reading is involved? Wondering if my 7 year old would get on with it.....

Jonman wrote:

How much reading is involved? Wondering if my 7 year old would get on with it.....

It narrates all the words in the book as far as I can tell. You need to know which word powers are which to use them correctly but could likely memorize those by location in the menu instead of by reading them. The important words in the platforming parts are highlighted so you know which ones you have to trigger to progress. So I don’t think reading is absolutely necessary.

The frame narrative seems to be about a sick relative and I don’t yet know how that ends so maybe some parental guidance needed there if that story gets too sad.

Appreciate your take, thanks.