When my son became obsessed with Minecraft a few years back, I was a bit worried. I then learned that the founder of Atari (and influencer of Steve Jobs) said that Minecraft is teaching today's kids how to code, much like "Basic" coding language did in the early days of Apple and Microsoft.
Admittedly, that made me feel a good bit better. And I was curious, what other games are out there that are good for kids, and good for parents? Here are a few we discovered.
For the younger set, Toca Builders is good option. Toca is all about play and the designers have created a unique environment that reflects that. And there are no in-app purchases or even ads, making it a great choice for kids 6 and under. With this game, there are no rules, no winning, no "next levels', kids just play. It's a different mindset for games, one where participants are doing and thus learning. There is no failing or succeeding. It's the opposite of Master Yoda's quote "there is no try, only do or not do". In this case it's all trying or doing or not doing, who cares, it's just play. In fact some scientists and educators feel this is healthier and better for kids than the constant competition of most games.
For kids who really love to create, there's Tayasui Blocks. It's almost a "MineCraft lite" in that the emphasis is all about creating either pets, characters, or environments. There's no playing with what you've created, meaning no exploring, or fighting. But there is a cool "destroy" feature for those kids who like to smash what they've built. The ability to create in 3D is fun, and applicable to the whole new world of 3D printing (or you can tell yourself that to justify letting your kids spend hours on this.)
Roblox is another strong game for kids in the 7-11 age range (other sources say "10+", but my son says "nobody over 11 plays Roblox"). The key element that sets this game apart is the collaborative nature of the game. Users work together to create adventures and play games. The site is "kid-friendly" but can get a little violent if user/developers add those elements, but not as violent as Terraria. This game is one of the more commercial as it does skew towards in-game purchases as earning perks can be a slow process.
Taking things beyond MineCraft is Project Spark. This game lets users create their own worlds, and their own games in those worlds. Also of note, this is PC or console based, not an app. The creators have endeavored to keep the game "kid friendly" with no drugs, swearing, or sex, and do a pretty good job, but nothing's perfect so best to keep an eye on your younger kids' play. This game is all about trial and error. Unlike Toca, there are rules that may not work and the user has to go in and fix it, which is part of the appeal in this case. This game letfs kids be the game designer so it gives them a unique appreciation of what's involved in creating the games they play.
When I was a kid, I had a terrarium, with plants and frogs and stuff in a glass fish tank. Now there's Terraria, a game that lets kids create worlds and stories of their own. This game has a good bit of fighting built in, enemies may tear you "limb from limb", so it's got that going on. But with all the building and creating, it does foster creativity in children in the Tween (10+) range. It is harder to learn and get accustomed to than MineCraft and others above, but for my now teen, this was his go-to game for several years as he progressed from MineCraft.
If your kids get bored with MineCraft, or you do, share some other games like these that will entertain and foster creativity for the connected world they are going to rule.
