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My son started playing games (with me) at 4 yo (partly because we were all locked indoors for months on end). Anecdotally - and providing you use some discreti
by darkteflon 4y ago
My son started playing games (with me) at 4 yo (partly because we were all locked indoors for months on end).
Anecdotally - and providing you use some discretion as to choice of game - I’ve found it absolutely fascinating to watch both the pace of development of problem-solving skills, and some of the frankly astounding leaps of logic and intuition young kids are capable of. I vividly remember one rock-moving puzzle in Breath of the Wild that had me stumped until he piped up with a proposal that turned out to be the correct solution. Fascinating stuff.
- andrewmutz 4y agoWhat games do you recommend for kids of that age?
- danielmarkbruce 4y agoAs mentioned, Zelda Breath of the Wild is a great game for kids, even as young as 4-5. My kid is 6 and had an amazing time with it, as did I.
- treeman79 4y agoMy then 8yo daughter who is behind in love with horses saw me riding a horse in botw. Zero experience with video games she picked it up and spent six months working at it so she could get a horse. Completing shrines so she could get enough stamina to tame the horses. She has collected all the rare ones now.
- cloudking 4y agoMinecraft in creative mode
- exitb 4y agoI’ve found that the same games I was playing around that age are actually still fun - Commodore 64 games. Basic, non-distracting graphics and simple joystick controls make things easy for young kids.
- darkteflon 4y agoFun question! I would suggest the following (in no particular order), subject to the proviso that you do need to be sat next to them to help manage frustration, especially in the beginning (although my personal take is that they shouldn’t be left to play by themselves at all at that age) - particularly as they learn the controller, general video game conventions, and the specifics of each game: - Breath of the Wild - Animal Crossing - Stardew Valley - Minecraft - Super Mario Odyssey - Super Mario 3D World - Rayman Legends - Ratchet & Clank - It Takes Two - Slay the Spire - Journey - Spiderman and Miles Morales My son’s favourite superhero - far and away - is Spiderman, in large part thanks to the PlayStation games. Pretty great role model. Kids find swinging through the city utterly exhilarating. It Takes Two was such a fantastic, memorable experience for both of us - he still talks about it months later. It does require quite a lot of a kid, though - better for when they’ve got a year’s experience. And trying to catch all the insects and fish in Animal Crossing kicked off a passion in him for the real things, to say nothing of what it taught him about animals generally, time and seasonality. A Nintendo Switch is probably a good place to start, although as he gets older I’m encouraging him to move more over to the PlayStation (partly because it’s so much cheaper over time!). Switch Joycons are great for small hands, too, although most kids seem to be able to manipulate a full-size controller by age 4-5. Enjoy!
- waboremo 4y agoIn general, most Nintendo made and published games tend to be great for kids of all ages. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker for problem solving, Mario Maker 2 for dexterity but also once they get comfortable with the game they can make their own levels and express themselves, Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening for the same reasons the above person noted Breath of the Wild. Switch Sports is great for getting your kids into sports that you might not normally have access to (like volleyball).
- mod 4y agoAt young ages, I say give them an old-school Nintendo, or N64 etc. Little/no advertising, monetization of your kid's attention, whatever. If they're not on the web or at school yet, they won't even know they're missing out on more modern systems. Or some similar setup where there's no online, no monthly charge, no pay-to-win, and instead the child gets to play a carefully crafted game, hopefully an awesome one. I also think (offline) minecraft is great at that age.
- kspacewalk2 4y agoAgree completely! My 6 year old thought the original Wii is the pinnacle of gaming, even told me to treat the controllers gently since he's gonna pass it on to his kids, and they will pass it to theirs - that seemed so obvious to him. Of course, a few months ago his "girlfriend" down the street got a Switch...
- PebblesRox 4y agoMy kids have been enjoying this online remake of LodeRunner. [0] It's fun because I have fond memories of playing it on the Macintosh Classic II as a kid. They like making custom levels for each other, just like me and my siblings used to do. I was also happy to find an ad-free Minesweeper remake on Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Page. [1] They like the maps game from that page as well. [0] https://loderunnerwebgame.com/game/ https://loderunnerwebgame.com/game/ [1] https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/ https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/
- HyperSane 4y agoI played LodeRunner on the NES.
- Aeolun 4y agoMy 4yo son loves the N64, but he plays nothing but Smash Bros. It’s not like I don’t understand, but it still feels mildly wrong.
- mod 4y ago
- nrjames 4y agoSpelunky HD! Easy to understand and control, terribly difficult to master. I started my oldest on it when she was 4 and she beat it for the first time around age 6. Now she tears through it like a ninja master. She also enjoyed Bit Trip Runner 2 when she was 3-4 yrs old.
- bee_rider 4y agoThe idea that it took 1/3 of her life-so-far to beat the game is kind of hilarious.
- marmot777 4y agoStarting at around 5 or 6, Minecraft is fantastic.
- locutus1686 4y agoMy son loves the various Lego games (Lega Batman, Indiana Jones, Avengers, etc).
- buscoquadnary 4y agoThe logical journey of the zoombinis
- jacobolus 4y agoMy two kids have enjoyed the iPad game Inventioneers, about making zany Rube Goldberg devices out of a wide variety of objects. The recent puzzle game Railbound is fun, with some very tricky puzzles. * * * Instead of video games though, let me highly recommend the physical logic puzzle games by the company SmartGames, most of which are excellent. Raf Peeters, one of their puzzle designers, has a nice website with some back story about many of them, https://smartgamesandpuzzles.com https://smartgamesandpuzzles.com
- PebblesRox 4y agoWow, I love those Raf Peeters games! More than one of them will end up under the Christmas tree for sure.
- rbut 4y agoMy son finished Lego City Undercover at the age of 4, turning 5. It was the first game he played. Highly recommend.
- andreygrehov 4y agoCuphead is absolutely the best game I ever played with my kids. This is one of the only games that allows you to play together with your family/friends offline. No screen split. I haven't seen such a gem for many, many years. Cuphead is the game that can easily inspire people to become game developers. Fun fact: the entire game was hand-drawn. The authors took the inspiration from the cartoons of 1930s.
- tehbeard 4y agoThat is... A bold choice depending on the kids age... though I guess they'll be better trained for when they tackle dark souls...
- HlessClaudesman 4y agoHey there, sitting here with my awesome 5yo and we can answer this one. Some games we recommend (platform we played it on): Cave Story (PC, was free on Epic) Shovel Knight, Treasure Trove Edition (PC, Steam) Castlevania Symphony of the Night (ios, ipad) Minecraft (ios, ipad)
- nicolas_t 4y agoThe Freddi fish games by Humongous Entertainment are really great at that age. They are simple point and click adventures by Ron Gilbert with fun characters and a lot of interaction on the screen. Easy to get for cheap on Steam or sometimes in bundles and I've been impressed with how quickly it developed puzzle solving skills with my nephews. Once the child is a bit older, the Pajama Sam serie is also great.
- dyingkneepad 4y agoI have tried a lot of stuff, and I believe Lego Marvel Super Heroes (or other similar Lego games) are absolutely perfect for a small kid. There are infinite lives, and you can play co-op where you can do all the hard stuff while they enjoy the ride. Eventually they will learn by seeing you do stuff, and they will learn and want to do it too. It is truly amazing, a very forgiving game for a 4yo. As a side note, my son learned this using a fight stick, since "move the stick in that direction to make your character go to that direction" is easier for them to comprehend and associate than using a dpad. Also way easier to hold with hittle hands.
- tunnuz 4y agoCan you recommend any games / platforms for a kid at that age?