Hello everyone,
I've talked to a lot of people in the interim since the last post, and a common question that I've come across is 'what games should my kids play?' A fair question, and for which, this (limited) post. There are also a few FAQs at the end for those who have further questions. Please note that almost all of these games can be enjoyed at any age, the ages mentioned here are sort of minimum requirements (for humans :) ). Side note, I've played most of these myself, and am recommending from experience.
Kids less than 5 Years old
Outdoors, physical, kinetic games that help build real world motor skills and social skills. Outdoor games are and will remain a consistent recommendation at all ages (not just for kids).
Indoor games that help simple logical reasoning.
Below the age of five, I strongly discourage kids from playing video games before they have fairly well developed notions of real and unreal. The last thing you want is for kids to learn early on is to take orders from others without asking why.
Puzzles, simple board games (snakes and ladders-esque), and pattern detection games like snap are far more age appropriate for this age group
Kids 5 till 8 years old
Beyond outdoor sports, now kids have the mental reasoning capacity to start learning more complex games. Chess and simple versions of monopoly can enter at this age. Among books: Where's Wally
Regarding video games, I'd recommend avoiding mobile gaming due to its ubiquitous presence, making kids eager to play games anywhere they go (at an age where they don't know better). Instead, I recommend playing games on dedicated consoles / a PC, which can be monitored and regulated in terms of time spent. At this age, kids will be able to play the games, but often will not be able to grasp the full depth of them, hence I won't recommend most challenging genres such as strategy yet.
Great games are the Mario series (pretty much anything in this), Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, Angry Birds, many simple Disney games
While I'd recommend avoiding online games, Neopets.com and Miniclip.com do offer fairly kid friendly environments
Kids 8 to 12 years old
At this age, kids will enjoy more diverse experiences and become mentally able to comprehend games better, allowing me to recommend more serious titles. and a whole new world of challenging and engaging games opens up. Among game systems, Nintendo's Wii U or a PC would be preferred at this age
Must Plays: Spore, Bastion, Portal, The Legend of Zelda series, Minecraft, Portal, Portal 2,
Brothers: A tale of Two Sons, Fable 1, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Zoo Tycoon, Sid Meier's Pirates, Sid Meier's Ace Patrol, Disney Infinity, Lego Games (Lord of the Rings, Batman, Jurassic Park, Dimensions, Avengers), The Oregon Trail, Contraptions: The Incredible Machine (1 and 2), The Oregon Trail, Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, Never Alone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, World of Goo, Threes, 2048
Teens 12 to 16
This is the last age group at which I'd recommend games in general, as beyond this point, more specific tastes develop among games.
Civilization 4, Super Smash Brothers, Gunpoint, Professor Layton Series, The Talos Principle, Kerbal Space Program, Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends, Valiant Hearts, Kingdom Hearts, Age of Empires (1, 2, 3), Age of Mythology, Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, Child of Light, Rise of Nations, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, Patapon, Braid, InfiniFactory, Rogue Legacy, Plants Vs Zombies (1 & 2), Final Fantasy (1, 4, 6), The World Ends with You, Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic (1&2), Transistor, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Monaco, Steamworld Dig, Legend of Grimrock, Mark of the Ninja, Tropico 4
Kids at heart, and teens above the age of 16
The Witcher 3, The Witcher 2, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Civilization V (The Complete Edition), Deux Ex: Human Revolution, Valkyria Chronicles, 80 Days, Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Alter Ego, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Sims 3, Project Cars, FTL, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil's Survivor, Metal Gear Rising: Revengenace, Dishonored, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, DotA2, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Saints Row (The Third, 4), BioShock (1, 2, 3), Wolfenstein: the New Order, Borderlands, Telltales- A Game of Thrones, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, The Walking Dead, XCom- Enemy Unknown Complete, This War of Mine, Invisible Inc, Spec Ops: The Line, Total War: Shogun 2, Wargame: Airland Battle, World in Conflict, GTA V, GTA IV, Shadow of Mordor
FAQs
PC/PS4/XBox One/Nintendo?
My personal choice: PC + Nintendo, you miss the least games.
Only one? PC
Only one console? PS4
What is the most cost-effective platform?
PC Gaming, this is a no-contest
Mobile Gaming?
Avoid Free To Play games like the plague. Most do not respect your time at all, unlike most paid games. The hidden currency that games really cost you is time, not money. For those who understand the difference between the two, don't sell your time short with a bad game.
To Pay or Not to Pay?
Pay, please support the developers! For the price conscious on PC, Steam Sales come around Summer and December, and many amazing games are at steep discounts. Also, humblebundle.com is a great source of many great games, for amazing prices.
In the rare chance there's something left to ask, leave a comment :)
I've talked to a lot of people in the interim since the last post, and a common question that I've come across is 'what games should my kids play?' A fair question, and for which, this (limited) post. There are also a few FAQs at the end for those who have further questions. Please note that almost all of these games can be enjoyed at any age, the ages mentioned here are sort of minimum requirements (for humans :) ). Side note, I've played most of these myself, and am recommending from experience.
Kids less than 5 Years old
Outdoors, physical, kinetic games that help build real world motor skills and social skills. Outdoor games are and will remain a consistent recommendation at all ages (not just for kids).
Indoor games that help simple logical reasoning.
Below the age of five, I strongly discourage kids from playing video games before they have fairly well developed notions of real and unreal. The last thing you want is for kids to learn early on is to take orders from others without asking why.
Puzzles, simple board games (snakes and ladders-esque), and pattern detection games like snap are far more age appropriate for this age group
Kids 5 till 8 years old
Beyond outdoor sports, now kids have the mental reasoning capacity to start learning more complex games. Chess and simple versions of monopoly can enter at this age. Among books: Where's Wally
Regarding video games, I'd recommend avoiding mobile gaming due to its ubiquitous presence, making kids eager to play games anywhere they go (at an age where they don't know better). Instead, I recommend playing games on dedicated consoles / a PC, which can be monitored and regulated in terms of time spent. At this age, kids will be able to play the games, but often will not be able to grasp the full depth of them, hence I won't recommend most challenging genres such as strategy yet.
Great games are the Mario series (pretty much anything in this), Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, Angry Birds, many simple Disney games
While I'd recommend avoiding online games, Neopets.com and Miniclip.com do offer fairly kid friendly environments
Kids 8 to 12 years old
At this age, kids will enjoy more diverse experiences and become mentally able to comprehend games better, allowing me to recommend more serious titles. and a whole new world of challenging and engaging games opens up. Among game systems, Nintendo's Wii U or a PC would be preferred at this age
Must Plays: Spore, Bastion, Portal, The Legend of Zelda series, Minecraft, Portal, Portal 2,
Brothers: A tale of Two Sons, Fable 1, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Zoo Tycoon, Sid Meier's Pirates, Sid Meier's Ace Patrol, Disney Infinity, Lego Games (Lord of the Rings, Batman, Jurassic Park, Dimensions, Avengers), The Oregon Trail, Contraptions: The Incredible Machine (1 and 2), The Oregon Trail, Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, Never Alone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, World of Goo, Threes, 2048
Teens 12 to 16
This is the last age group at which I'd recommend games in general, as beyond this point, more specific tastes develop among games.
Civilization 4, Super Smash Brothers, Gunpoint, Professor Layton Series, The Talos Principle, Kerbal Space Program, Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends, Valiant Hearts, Kingdom Hearts, Age of Empires (1, 2, 3), Age of Mythology, Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, Child of Light, Rise of Nations, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, Patapon, Braid, InfiniFactory, Rogue Legacy, Plants Vs Zombies (1 & 2), Final Fantasy (1, 4, 6), The World Ends with You, Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic (1&2), Transistor, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Monaco, Steamworld Dig, Legend of Grimrock, Mark of the Ninja, Tropico 4
Kids at heart, and teens above the age of 16
The Witcher 3, The Witcher 2, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Civilization V (The Complete Edition), Deux Ex: Human Revolution, Valkyria Chronicles, 80 Days, Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Alter Ego, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Sims 3, Project Cars, FTL, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil's Survivor, Metal Gear Rising: Revengenace, Dishonored, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, DotA2, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Saints Row (The Third, 4), BioShock (1, 2, 3), Wolfenstein: the New Order, Borderlands, Telltales- A Game of Thrones, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, The Walking Dead, XCom- Enemy Unknown Complete, This War of Mine, Invisible Inc, Spec Ops: The Line, Total War: Shogun 2, Wargame: Airland Battle, World in Conflict, GTA V, GTA IV, Shadow of Mordor
FAQs
PC/PS4/XBox One/Nintendo?
My personal choice: PC + Nintendo, you miss the least games.
Only one? PC
Only one console? PS4
What is the most cost-effective platform?
PC Gaming, this is a no-contest
Mobile Gaming?
Avoid Free To Play games like the plague. Most do not respect your time at all, unlike most paid games. The hidden currency that games really cost you is time, not money. For those who understand the difference between the two, don't sell your time short with a bad game.
To Pay or Not to Pay?
Pay, please support the developers! For the price conscious on PC, Steam Sales come around Summer and December, and many amazing games are at steep discounts. Also, humblebundle.com is a great source of many great games, for amazing prices.
In the rare chance there's something left to ask, leave a comment :)
Wouldnt you think a console is the most cost-effective system for gaming in the longer run?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not, on consoles you pay around INR 3000 ($60) for a game, you have to pay a recurring cost per month to access multiplayer, and have limited access to the hundreds of good online games PC has access to. PC games in India cost around INR 1000-1500 per game, and are often on steep sale. A PC or laptop costs 50k to 150k (depending on parts). A Console costs 40k. Depending on your level of PC, number of extra controllers for the console, and number of games per year, PC is the far more economical option, and also is a pc so you can do a lot more than just games. The only real tradeoff is portability, while upside is upvradability. Also, PC games have mod support and often can be opened on newer windows versions, where most consoles do not have backwards compatibility
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