Great PC games for young children

[cheesyboy]

Played throughthe first two Trine games with my lad when he was about 5 or 6. He's nearly 10 now, likes minecraft of course (bedrock edition : no controller support on java AFAIK),Sonic racing transformed, Gauntlet (it's got an absurd 18 rating though: caused a minor crisis in the cheesy house when another parent queried this to Mrs cheesyboy ), FTL (a tough game, but he's played it since he was 8), Sims 4, think those are the main ones

He found the Lego games pretty boring. Me too (I just don't understand the love for them)

 

[JJimmyJ]

Nice to see I'm not the only one who thinks it's good for the kids to play the PC. I want to get them using the mouse and keyboard more, so think I may dabble in minecraft.
One question though, is it just my 6yr old who acts like a demon possessed entity when he finishes playing the comp??? I think he gets to invested in it, then can't express himself properly. Or he is just possessed

 

[cheesyboy]

One question though, is it just my 6yr old who acts like a demon possessed entity when he finishes playing the comp??? I think he gets to invested in it, then can't express himself properly. Or he is just possessed

Overstimulated by games. It's why they shouldn't be on them too much.

They're all different, though. My son gets overexcited much more easily than my younger daughter: she's entirely normal after playing video games.

 

[mattydoughts]

One question though, is it just my 6yr old who acts like a demon possessed entity when he finishes playing the comp??? I think he gets to invested in it, then can't express himself properly. Or he is just possessed

All kids are the same, games overstimulate them. So long as you are sensible and careful and try to have some sort of guidelines in place to enforce limits etc then you should be fine.
As an adult when I stay up late gaming I cannot sleep for at least 30 minutes after I leave the PC as I feel wide awake. It must be harder for a child to come back down after all that excitement.

 

[JJimmyJ]

Overstimulated by games. It's why they shouldn't be on them too much.

They're all different, though. My son gets overexcited much more easily than my younger daughter: she's entirely normal after playing video games.

All kids are the same, games overstimulate them. So long as you are sensible and careful and try to have some sort of guidelines in place to enforce limits etc then you should be fine.
As an adult when I stay up late gaming I cannot sleep for at least 30 minutes after I leave the PC as I feel wide awake. It must be harder for a child to come back down after all that excitement.

Thanks folks, glad it's not just mine. He does have limited time, only weekends. My younger one has no problems, so yeah kids are all different!
On another note, my son saw me playing PES and was desperate to play. I had an old fifa on my origin account and installed that for him. If they like football that could also be an option for a game. Put it on amateur and they can learn the controls and score goals easily, which means they enjoy it more. Even joined in co-op with him and of course had to pass to him every time I touched the ball!
We usually do his reading books or mathletics before he plays, I might try switching it and do the maths after so it could perhaps wind him down

 

[mattydoughts]

I have 3 boys and they all love Fortnite (Obviously) but I can get them off to play games like Minecraft and Riverbond. Co-op couch games are still the best lol

 

[loftie]

I noticed Dungeon Defenders 2 is on the list, it is F2P so worth a shot but I didn't enjoy #2 anywhere near as much as #1. Edit - 3 is in development, I think you may get a complete edition of #1 if you back it but no idea if that's worth it or not. Worth looking into though.
Stardew Valley has a local co-op mod - I've not tried it though. If you have the option of using two PCs however and don't want to faff with mods, then it's one that's pretty good.

If you get Minecraft, get the JAVA one.

Bedrock (Xbox/Windows Store edition) is stuffed with ads for DLC.

JAVA is pure Minecraft, the way it is meant to be played.

How does the Java one play with an xbox controller? I seem to remember that bedrock plays with a controller much better. As for ads, I just fire up a world and let my nieces play so I deal with the adverts and they don't.

 

[leeb]

My 9 year old son is obsessed with Amazing Frog? which is absolutely bonkers but the amount of laughter I hear suggests he loves it, and so does his friends when they come over and play local co-op.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/332570/Amazing_Frog/

 

[Wegason]

Sorry to necromancer this but its still applicable, and given the Christmas break, thought there might be some new ones.

Over the last year we've played through a few good games, my strong recommendations:

Adventure Pals

Putty Pals

Portal Knights

Good for co-op with a young one

 

[varkanoid]

Mine started with racing games F1 Race Stars (basically Mario Kart for the PC), Flatout series particularly Flatout Ultimate Carnage, Wreckfest they loved. They have played all the Lego Star Wars games. Then as the years have gone on Fortnite, Mincraft (Windows 10 version) Roblox, Star Wars Battlefront I+II and now Star Wars Squadrons. Apart from Roblox I play the other ones with them and my eldest (nearly 11) has started playing a Medieval Multiplayer game cant remember the name of it but it has massive battles in it. He was interested in it after doing Medieval times at school. They even have their own Discord channel where the school mates, and other friends hang out and chat about all sorts.

With regards to content control you cant beat Microsoft Family. Controls content, when they can play, how long they can play, if they are naughty I can reduce their hours. Plus if I want them off the computer (meal times or just plain annoying/being naughty) I use the app on my phone and instantly logs them off the computer. Best thing MS ever invented. Before Covid my wife would txt me at work and say eldest is misbehaving can you kick him off the computer, out comes phone, quick press on the app and bang no more computer time. (both have their own gaming computers, gaming chairs, RGB the lot)

 

[Wegason]

Got F1 Race Stars, racaing games are a bit hard for my son, he's really enjoying Portal Knights at the moment as we can all play as co-op, me, my 5 year old son and my 9 year old daughter.

 

[chaparral]

Anyone got any solid recommendations?

My niece seems to spend every minute of the day on this
Roblox

 

[koooowweeee]

Block n load or roll blocks

 

[.Lethal]

Roblox

My niece seems to spend every minute of the day on this
Roblox

My 8yr old nephew plays this to death, so I'd suggest this too. Absolutely awful game from what I've seen though

 

[lovelyhead]

You should definitley check out Rush A Disney Pixar Adventure. It is available on Gamepass for PC and Xbox. My 4 year old girl loves it. It is very easy gameplay and can be played coop. It's made by Asobo studios, the same folks that made Flight Simulator and Innocence - A Plague Tale.

 

[theone8181]

My 8yr old nephew plays this to death, so I'd suggest this too. Absolutely awful game from what I've seen though

As a 'hardcore' gamer, I've helped my daughter on this game. It's surprisingly hard.

 

[Wegason]

You should definitley check out Rush A Disney Pixar Adventure. It is available on Gamepass for PC and Xbox. My 4 year old girl loves it. It is very easy gameplay and can be played coop. It's made by Asobo studios, the same folks that made Flight Simulator and Innocence - A Plague Tale.

Thanks, i'll check it out.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Which version of Minecraft should I get for a 6 year old playing on PC? I get confused with all the different versions available.

 

[varkanoid]

I just got them the Windows 10 version as they already have MS accounts and thats the one they wanted.

 

[keenan]

Have a look at Max The Curse Of Brotherhood.

My son absolutely loved it before he discovered Roblox/Among Us