“Princess Dress-Up” type games are just as legitimate as any other type of video game, though the quality varies wildly. I’m an avid player of all kinds of games but my teens loved and still love open-ended digital “toys” more than they enjoy narrative/adventure/combat-type games. Toca Boca makes GREAT quality games.
Completely agree and apologies if the tone came across condescending—my kids are obsessed with these, too. Can you drop me a note with some more about what your kids find interesting about them? patrick@crossplay.news
"That’s all to say that I expect how my kid interacts with the prospect of infinite games the same way: one day, she’ll see an out of context clip of something and ask to try it."
That's basically what happens with my kids (ages 9 & 6). They see something and then ask me about it. Occasionally I might show them a trailer of something I think they might be interested in but generally what they are interested trying comes from a source other than me.
I remember when my oldest was little and I was like "I'm going to bring her along the past 30+ years in games and consoles so she learns how I learned and I get to play all of my old favorites again." She doesn't care about that stuff, her sister doesn't care, and they are likely never going to care. Which is fine! As much as I would love to create two little mini-mes who align with my interests so I can share and interact with all of my favorite stuff I have found that I enjoy watching them develop their own tastes and explore on their own so much more.
Oddly enough, playing Skylanders on an iPad with a virtual joystick was what finally got my oldest to understand how joysticks work and play the big version on the PS4. I don't recall a single game or moment for my middle child, but playing a variety of games along with his older brother definitely helped. My youngest just started grabbing the controller to play Astrobot on the PS5 this week, and it's blown my mind how quickly he's figuring it out. He just turned 3 in January.
I also constantly use the "I'll think about it..." line when my oldest asks for some garbage he watched a streamer play, hoping he'll forget about it in a couple days. The latest is something called Cookies vs. Claus.
At the risk of repeating myself from another post, I want to shout out Kirby's Dream Buffet on the Switch as a good "intro to 3D" game; it's single-stick movement with no camera control, it has 2-player split screen, and while it's deliberately imprecise, it's also not very punishing, especially in the "Free Rolling" practice zone.
My kid went from "rolling around aimlessly and wildly" to "surprisingly deft" just practicing in this game before he even turned 4.
If you trust the streamer, you can manually add their channel to your kids' YouTube Kids account so they're still locked in but have at least that one available to them.
Last week, my seven-year-old daughter asked me if she could watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars. How did that get on her radar? Not via YouTube or kids at school... of all things, it was a Leapfrog device she has that reads children's books aloud - apparently one of the stories loaded on there was about Anakin and Ahsoka.
Little does she know I've already been preparing for this! From friends who have watched the show, it seems we're still a couple of years away in terms of age-appropriateness, but I'm looking forward to it.
Not a parent myself, but my nephew got used to 3D spaces through older LEGO games my brother has on Xbox 360 through back-compat on his Xbox One. They're relatively low stakes and my nephew loves LEGO.
As someone who can't navigate 3D spaces, are there any isometric games that would be good here? The only 3D game I can navigate is the newest Animal Crossing, and that's much more of a 3D/Iso hybrid.
I wouldn't say either of my kids has the hang of 3D spaces yet, but Animal Crossing has been good especially for its slower pace of play. Mario Kart with assists has also been a favorite that both my kids have (mostly) liked.
More indie side: Untitled Goose Game and Donut County have been popular
3D spaces are tough - I was wondering if my three year old would adapt to it faster because it’s all she knows. There has been some mild success with getting her to move Astrobot around. She also loves the weird vibrations and sounds the controller makes. Maybe it’s just getting them engaged with the controller to start?
Both of my daughters were five when they started to play Mario Odyssey. I started helping them along but once I had gone over the basics I basically just them do it by themselves and only jump in if they ever got really stuck (and even then I would usually try to talk them through it first rather than do it for them). Eventually they needed me less and less and then especially my oldest ended up being able to do moves I never could consistently pull off which made me both very proud and feeling very old.
How well can your three year old hold the controller? That's younger than when my kids started so I'm not sure how much of an effect that may or may not have.
I haven't exposed my 4 year old to many games yet, but she has tried to play Fall Guys when she's seen me playing it after her nap.
I've let her play a little, and a real life-saver on Xbox is the co-pilot feature. With a second controller I can help her get further down the course (or stop constantly spinning the camera, arg!!!).
I hadn't heard of co-pilot previously, thanks for that! My oldest likes Fall Guys, but hasn't gotten the hang of some of the levels so it's intimidating for her, but this may help faster than, 'here Daddy, can you help?'
“Princess Dress-Up” type games are just as legitimate as any other type of video game, though the quality varies wildly. I’m an avid player of all kinds of games but my teens loved and still love open-ended digital “toys” more than they enjoy narrative/adventure/combat-type games. Toca Boca makes GREAT quality games.
Completely agree and apologies if the tone came across condescending—my kids are obsessed with these, too. Can you drop me a note with some more about what your kids find interesting about them? patrick@crossplay.news
"That’s all to say that I expect how my kid interacts with the prospect of infinite games the same way: one day, she’ll see an out of context clip of something and ask to try it."
That's basically what happens with my kids (ages 9 & 6). They see something and then ask me about it. Occasionally I might show them a trailer of something I think they might be interested in but generally what they are interested trying comes from a source other than me.
I remember when my oldest was little and I was like "I'm going to bring her along the past 30+ years in games and consoles so she learns how I learned and I get to play all of my old favorites again." She doesn't care about that stuff, her sister doesn't care, and they are likely never going to care. Which is fine! As much as I would love to create two little mini-mes who align with my interests so I can share and interact with all of my favorite stuff I have found that I enjoy watching them develop their own tastes and explore on their own so much more.
Oddly enough, playing Skylanders on an iPad with a virtual joystick was what finally got my oldest to understand how joysticks work and play the big version on the PS4. I don't recall a single game or moment for my middle child, but playing a variety of games along with his older brother definitely helped. My youngest just started grabbing the controller to play Astrobot on the PS5 this week, and it's blown my mind how quickly he's figuring it out. He just turned 3 in January.
I also constantly use the "I'll think about it..." line when my oldest asks for some garbage he watched a streamer play, hoping he'll forget about it in a couple days. The latest is something called Cookies vs. Claus.
At the risk of repeating myself from another post, I want to shout out Kirby's Dream Buffet on the Switch as a good "intro to 3D" game; it's single-stick movement with no camera control, it has 2-player split screen, and while it's deliberately imprecise, it's also not very punishing, especially in the "Free Rolling" practice zone.
My kid went from "rolling around aimlessly and wildly" to "surprisingly deft" just practicing in this game before he even turned 4.
If you trust the streamer, you can manually add their channel to your kids' YouTube Kids account so they're still locked in but have at least that one available to them.
Last week, my seven-year-old daughter asked me if she could watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars. How did that get on her radar? Not via YouTube or kids at school... of all things, it was a Leapfrog device she has that reads children's books aloud - apparently one of the stories loaded on there was about Anakin and Ahsoka.
Little does she know I've already been preparing for this! From friends who have watched the show, it seems we're still a couple of years away in terms of age-appropriateness, but I'm looking forward to it.
Not a parent myself, but my nephew got used to 3D spaces through older LEGO games my brother has on Xbox 360 through back-compat on his Xbox One. They're relatively low stakes and my nephew loves LEGO.
As someone who can't navigate 3D spaces, are there any isometric games that would be good here? The only 3D game I can navigate is the newest Animal Crossing, and that's much more of a 3D/Iso hybrid.
I wouldn't say either of my kids has the hang of 3D spaces yet, but Animal Crossing has been good especially for its slower pace of play. Mario Kart with assists has also been a favorite that both my kids have (mostly) liked.
More indie side: Untitled Goose Game and Donut County have been popular
Sackboy’s Big Adventure is a very fun family-friendly isometric game that my kids love
3D spaces are tough - I was wondering if my three year old would adapt to it faster because it’s all she knows. There has been some mild success with getting her to move Astrobot around. She also loves the weird vibrations and sounds the controller makes. Maybe it’s just getting them engaged with the controller to start?
Both of my daughters were five when they started to play Mario Odyssey. I started helping them along but once I had gone over the basics I basically just them do it by themselves and only jump in if they ever got really stuck (and even then I would usually try to talk them through it first rather than do it for them). Eventually they needed me less and less and then especially my oldest ended up being able to do moves I never could consistently pull off which made me both very proud and feeling very old.
How well can your three year old hold the controller? That's younger than when my kids started so I'm not sure how much of an effect that may or may not have.
She can hold it pretty well! But no serious sessions yet. Wonder if the Mario Kart mode that auto-drives your car might even be helpful.
I haven't exposed my 4 year old to many games yet, but she has tried to play Fall Guys when she's seen me playing it after her nap.
I've let her play a little, and a real life-saver on Xbox is the co-pilot feature. With a second controller I can help her get further down the course (or stop constantly spinning the camera, arg!!!).
After a...nap??? Haven't heard that word in so long...seems like ages...
Oh dang, your kiddo gave up naps? That sucks.
I think my daughter has kept on napping to make up for the fact she would only nap for 30 minutes max her first year (both at home and daycare).
I hadn't heard of co-pilot previously, thanks for that! My oldest likes Fall Guys, but hasn't gotten the hang of some of the levels so it's intimidating for her, but this may help faster than, 'here Daddy, can you help?'