IF your kid loves video games, then why not share these great gaming experiences with them?
It can be difficult to know where to start if you’re not a gamer, but your kids are.
These games are appropriate for kids and fun for adults.
Even if you’re well-versed in the medium, finding games that are appropriate for children but still fun for you is difficult.
We’ve gathered some great games that will keep you hooked for hours on end no matter what age you are.
We’ve also mixed in a variety so you can get something out of it no matter how much previous gaming experience you have.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
When it comes to family-friendly games, Nintendo is one of the best places to start. They are masters of the “made for kids, but fun for adults” formula.
Although it can be a pretty intense fighting game at times, the controls are simple enough that just about anyone can learn them.
Even if you don’t get to grips with it, when you’re playing casually, mashing buttons at random will often yield great results.
Plus, if you’re someone who wants to introduce retro gaming icons to their kids, it’s a brilliant snapshot of gaming history.
Geoguessr
Shifting to something that everyone can play on any device, Geoguessr is such a wonderfully simple concept, but endlessly engaging.
The game uses Google Street View to drop you at a random location on Earth, you then have to wander around and observe your surroundings to work out where you are.
Not only is it a challenging puzzle, but it can be educational. It can teach kids what flags are, how to recognise languages, and just generally what other countries look like.
Terraria
This one may be for slightly more advanced gamers because this mixes the creative building of Minecraft with a fantastic RPG adventure.
There aren’t any quests or characters like you might expect, but instead, everything is hidden out there in the world and it’s your job to uncover it.
You grow your base and bring in villagers that have their own likes and dislikes that you have to manage, meaning there’s always more to do.
FIFA 23
Who doesn’t love a game of Football? Even if your child isn’t the sporty type, a game like FIFA can be fun even when you know nothing about the sport.
You can pick any sports game too. FIFA is for the football fans, but there’s NBA for basketball fans, the F1 games for racers, and even WWE for crazy pro-wrestling antics.
The benefit of these games is how simple they’re designed to be. You can pick up and play just about any sports game without having to memorise what loads of different buttons do.
Planet Zoo
This may seem like an odd choice, as it is exclusively single-player, but if your child is a fan of animals then it may be perfect.
Planet Zoo gives you free rein to create the perfect zoo of your dreams with all sorts of animals, but the management side of the game can be a bit complex.
If you take care of all the technical stuff then the kids can have loads of fun picking what animals they want to keep and how to design their enclosures.
Overcooked
Fair warning, this game can get pretty intense and stressful, but it’s all in the name of good fun.
Here you’ll be frantically running around terribly designed kitchens to create dishes under strict time constraints.
For every moment of frustration, there is another of equal hilarity, and you can tune your goals depending on how skilled you and your child are at games.
Minecraft
Even if you’ve never touched a video game in your life, you’ve probably heard of Minecraft by now.
This game started life in the pits of obscurity but is now the best-selling game of all time, and it’s easy to see why.
Minecraft can be whatever you want it to be. Whether you want to survive in a hostile environment or build cute castles, nothing is stopping you but your imagination.
It Takes Two
Hazelight Studios have become masters of creating games designed for two players.
While their dark prison break story, A Way Out, might be a bit much for kids, It Takes Two is a lot nicer.
This sees a quarrelling couple shrunk down into cutesy tiny versions of themselves and they must go on an adventure full of nature and wonder.
The story of a couple finding their love for each other again may go over your child’s head depending on their age, but there are still plenty of fun games and activities in there that they’ll love.
Jackbox Party Pack
These are games that you can get the whole family in on and are great for social gatherings.
Everyone uses their smart devices to play this series of minigames, and there’s a bit of everything.
While we can’t describe every single minigame here, we can promise that they’re all super easy to understand and as the humour comes from the players rather than the game, you’re always going to have a great time.
Stardew Valley
This is a true glimpse at the idyllic peaceful life. It may look like your standard farming game, but the longer you play the deeper the rabbit hole goes.
Grow and sell crops to make money, dive into the mines for some adventure, or wander around town and make friends with this colourful cast of memorable characters.
It can be taken entirely at your own pace and is super easy to jump in and out of whenever you feel like it.
Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.
