Nowadays, wherever you look, video games are always being blamed for the world’s problems. Low unemployment figures? Blame it on the video games! Child obesity? Blame it on the video games!
The news and media have to blame someone for the problems, and video games seem like the perfect answer. However, the news and press haven’t exactly been honest to you.
Contrary to what they say, video games can actually be very beneficial to people, especially kids, and help them learn essential life skills. Believe it or not, not all video games are violent and gruesome; that’s just one genre that the media like to focus on. Other genres are full of puzzles, challenges, and teamwork that help develop young minds into problem-solving machines!
If you’re thinking about introducing your kids to video games or looking for the next game to play with them, then we’re here to help. We’ve handpicked a mix of the most popular and educational video games that will help your kids develop essential life skills. Whether its teamwork, puzzle-solving, or even basic maths, these games will help them learn without them even realizing.
However, before we start our best video games for kids list, let’s take a closer look at why video games are good for kids.
Video games are often known for their violence and guns, but there is a reason video games have ratings in the first place. These ratings are to advise players and parents on the levels of violence, language and explicit behaviour within the game. Obviously, depending on the player's age, not all games are suitable for children. You wouldn’t let a 10-year-old play Grand Theft Auto knowing it contains lots of drugs, violence and strong language. Instead, you’d most likely opt for something more child-friendly.
Luckily, there are many games on the market that don’t contain any violence or guns at all and actually targeted the younger generation. These games focus more on promoting creativity and important life skills instead of mindless violence. Not only can these games help youngsters develop new skills and abilities, but they’re also great fun!
These video games can help kids improve their skills and abilities much faster than traditional methods of education often found in schools. When something is fun and rewarding, it’s a lot more enjoyable than listening to someone talk for an hour. Combine this with colourful and interactive cartoon characters, and it makes the experience much more memorable.
Here’s just a quick overview of the benefits of video games reported from various studies:
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits of video games for kids. Now you know why your kids should be playing video games, which games should they be playing?
Below we’ve compiled a list of the most fun and educational video games from various gaming platforms. No matter if your kids have never played games before or you’re looking for new additions to play, these games are sure to keep them entertained for hours.
Mario Kart is one of the easiest racing games to pick up and will definitely test your hand-eye coordination. Featuring colorful and bright cartoon visuals, the game puts you head to head with up to 4 other players on the track. Race past your opponents and win by any means possible while firing bananas, bombs and other items on the track.
With plenty of characters and racetracks to play, this game is sure to bring countless hours of fun to your kids for years to come. With no violence or gore, you won’t have to worry about any explicit content or babysitting them while they play.
LittleBigPlanet 3 is the latest installation from the highly popular and rated LittleBigPlanet franchise. Perfect for creative minds, this game is all about puzzles and solving them as quickly as possible. The co-operative mode also allows you to play alongside other players and complete the puzzles together like a family team.
Unlike the other games in the franchise, LittleBigPlanet3 features a creative mode that lets you design and play your own side-scrolling levels. Not only does this add lots of replayability to the game but it also allows you to create even more challenging levels for your kids to complete.
This game should need no introduction… Popular with kids and adults, this sandbox game has hours of replayability which keeps you coming back for more. With so much to do and create, it’s clear why this game has become so popular and why they have even started using it to teach in schools!
Featuring several different modes to play in, kids can experiment and push their imaginations to the limits block by block. Build crazy houses, make musical instruments, or just mine to the earth’s core, in Minecraft almost everything is possible, and there’s plenty of fun along the way.
An incredibly unique game, Rocket League merges the sports of racing and soccer to create a highly addictive motorsport game. Easy to pick up and play whenever, Rocket League is all about having as much fun as possible.
The aim of the game is simple, put the ball in the other team’s net, of course, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. No matter if you love or hate soccer, this game will put you in a competitive mood as you try to lead your team to victory. With so much to learn about (virtual) physics and co-operation, this game is great for teaching young kids.
Since there’s no knowing if the dead will one day rise and attack us from beyond the grave, it’s always good to ensure your kids know how to fight them. This light-hearted game will give them hours of fun fighting off an incoming zombie invasion.
Featuring various co-operative game modes, the game is even better when playing with friends and family. Join a team and spend your time slaying zombies to defend the world from annihilation. With lots of levels and modes to complete, you’ll quickly find yourself coming back again and again to this title.
Teamwork and cooking are two of the most important skills you’ll need in life. Overcooked 2 combines both of these to create an original and challenging multiplayer game. Ideal for playing with families and friends, the game is simple, but communication and teamwork are essential to succeed.
The game also features a range of fun and exciting levels that push your communication and teamwork capabilities to the limit. Suitable for 2 to 4 players, you’ll have endless hours of fun and maybe pick up a few cooking skills along the way!
An old but golden game, Portal 2 is an absolute classic when it comes to puzzle games. With just a handheld portal gun, players navigate themselves through a maze of puzzles and challenges to complete the levels. This gun spawns portals which allow the player to teleport and travel through them whenever they like.
Featuring a co-operative campaign mode with up to 4 players, its recommended for kids over 12 years old due to mild language and violence. However, overall the game is incredibly fun and will undoubtedly test your puzzle-solving skills.
