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I'm quite happy for my kids to spend hours playing online when they are playing together with friends. They start up discord audio rooms or whatever and play a

I'm quite happy for my kids to spend hours playing online when they are playing together with friends. They start up discord audio rooms or whatever and play as a team. Of course, playing with a ball in a field might be better, but, covid. I don't allow them to play single-player games so much, unless it's something original, story or experience-based. Undertale, Braid, Journey, etc. Certainly nothing 'infinite scrolling', with in-app purchase level-ups, etc, which are obviously just calculated to be addictive.

brundolf 5y ago
I would probably ban my kids from playing anything with those gambling-style mechanics, yeah. I think it's a disgusting trend that's turning a wonderful medium into digital cigarettes. I might make an exception for something all their friends were playing together, but I wouldn't pay for any loot boxes. But I would caution against being too picky about single-player experiences. The most meaningful games for me were not generally story-based, they were "play-based". Exploring mechanics, exploring a world, seeing what might be possible, what might lie out there to be found. Zelda, Pokémon, etc. A game doesn't have to be a work of literature to be meaningful and worthwhile; children in particular benefit from play. I would cite Minecraft as a good modern example of this ethos (which can of course be played either alone or with others, and is valuable in both modes).
- jacknews 5y ago
  I agree, I'm happy with Minecraft, though again they usually play cooperatively either to build things, or to fight/capture-the-flag in teams. Similarly with many Roblox games, but in that case they most enjoy making games themselves. And a lot of time on Scratch - I'm quite impressed with some of the games and interative 'skits' they make.
loudtieblahblah 5y ago
> Of course, playing with a ball in a field might be better, but, covid. Depending on the kind of "ball", but your kid goes to school., no? that's way more dangerous than playing outside in the sunshine. from a covid perspective.
- jacknews 5y ago
  Schools currently closed where I am.
falcolas 5y ago
> playing with a ball in a field might be better I categorize this as "maybe". If you're a physically fit child with good hand/eye coordination, playing ball is fun. If you're not, due to genetics, weight, or illness, it's closer to torment. Also, playing ball is almost always going to be competitive - there are no bots and only rarely cooperative objectives involved.
- brundolf 5y ago
  For me it was just always boring. I played pee-wee sports for a few years and I spent most of the practices and games staring up at the sky daydreaming. I couldn't relate to my peers over their interest in it (though I did relate to some of them over Pokémon when we had water breaks)
  - falcolas 5y ago
    I'll agree with this. Being in left field was bo-ring. It was being up at bat, and knowing that I was going to rack up an "out" for our team, which was agonizing.

brundolf 5y ago

I would probably ban my kids from playing anything with those gambling-style mechanics, yeah. I think it's a disgusting trend that's turning a wonderful medium into digital cigarettes. I might make an exception for something all their friends were playing together, but I wouldn't pay for any loot boxes. But I would caution against being too picky about single-player experiences. The most meaningful games for me were not generally story-based, they were "play-based". Exploring mechanics, exploring a world, seeing what might be possible, what might lie out there to be found. Zelda, Pokémon, etc. A game doesn't have to be a work of literature to be meaningful and worthwhile; children in particular benefit from play. I would cite Minecraft as a good modern example of this ethos (which can of course be played either alone or with others, and is valuable in both modes).

jacknews 5y ago
I agree, I'm happy with Minecraft, though again they usually play cooperatively either to build things, or to fight/capture-the-flag in teams. Similarly with many Roblox games, but in that case they most enjoy making games themselves. And a lot of time on Scratch - I'm quite impressed with some of the games and interative 'skits' they make.

loudtieblahblah 5y ago

> Of course, playing with a ball in a field might be better, but, covid. Depending on the kind of "ball", but your kid goes to school., no? that's way more dangerous than playing outside in the sunshine. from a covid perspective.

jacknews 5y ago
Schools currently closed where I am.

falcolas 5y ago

> playing with a ball in a field might be better I categorize this as "maybe". If you're a physically fit child with good hand/eye coordination, playing ball is fun. If you're not, due to genetics, weight, or illness, it's closer to torment. Also, playing ball is almost always going to be competitive - there are no bots and only rarely cooperative objectives involved.

brundolf 5y ago
For me it was just always boring. I played pee-wee sports for a few years and I spent most of the practices and games staring up at the sky daydreaming. I couldn't relate to my peers over their interest in it (though I did relate to some of them over Pokémon when we had water breaks)
- falcolas 5y ago
  I'll agree with this. Being in left field was bo-ring. It was being up at bat, and knowing that I was going to rack up an "out" for our team, which was agonizing.