Hi everyone, I've got a 9 year old, and for his birthday I gave him my iPod Touch, which of course meant I needed a new one. Anyway, after a week of watching him and his friends play (all between 6 and 9 years old), I thought I'd share the games that were instant hits with the kids. I have no idea how many games I've downloaded, but he certainly had lots of choices. Maybe this list can help other parents pick out some fun games for their kids. I'd also love some game suggestions for his age bracket. Here are the clear winners: Besiegement: He loves, loves, loves this game! I'm currently addicted to Defender Chronicles myself, and tried to get him into it, but he's not interested. I also gave him 7 or 8 other TD games to choose from, and so far, he's ignored them all. Listening to him and his friends play, I get the impression this game is popular because there are so many different "towers" to choose from, and because each level of tower looks so different from the rest. The dragon tower seems to be the favorite. Trace: Such a simple game with simple graphics, but my son's already familiar with games like Drawn to Life on the Nintendo DS, so I'm not surprised he loves this one. Snail Mail: I've got several racing games, but this one seemed to win out because 1) It's flashy and colorful, and 2) some of the kids had already played it online. DoodleJump: He's enjoying this one because he wants to beat my high score. Bounce On: I've got Castle of Magic, Spy Bot Chronicles, Toki Tori, Rolando Lite, but Bounce On is the game he likes best. And since it has multiple save slots, his friends also have saved games on his iPod Touch now too. Subway: This one's probably his second favorite. Easy to pick up and (on the early levels), easy to get a sense of accomplishment. Orions: My son loves Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon, so this game was a no-brainer. The only thing that has frustrated him is having to buy new cards. I think he just wants to battle! And finally, 1 non-game that is a HUGE hit with all the kids: iPity, the Mister T quotes app. If you've got any games that have been hits with kids, post them here. I'm always looking for new games!
Peter und Vlad Hi just read your article, and a nice one. There isn't enough discussion about games for our kids. I recommend you try out a game thats way of radar for most because it's hidden in the iTunes App store. The game is Peter und Vlad and it's really neat. itms://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=329867455&mt=8&s=143460 Try it and tell me what you think
Wriggle, our new puzzle game that just came out has been well received with kids so far: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=326088352&mt=8 but trust me, the puzzle's will give you quite a challenge as well!
My almost 5 son loves Minigore and Meteor Blitz. He is pretty good at minigore (well, it does start easy) and still pretty aweful at the more complicated meteor blitz. He likes a lot of others too, including snail mail as has been mentioned. My almost 8 daughter loves Bookworm. She screams for mom when the fire tiles come. We really like that she plays Bookworm, although not so much the bit about the fire tiles. I downloaded Bikini Inspector Lite, and they both like it. Yeah, I'm a bad dad I guess.
I dont have kids but I've heard that a good option is Sky Burger. Try Alphabetic too. This might be a strtch because it's kinda hard but what about Ynth? They are coming out with an update that should make it easier. Here are other ones to consider Jelly car Slotz jump pirate bay homerun battle 3D taxiball I hope at least one of these suggestions helps.
Oh, this looks great. I think I'm downloading this for me. If my son likes it, that'll just be an added bonus! LOL, I think I'll skip this one and just wait for Chinatown Wars to hit the iPod. Thanks, themendoz. Hearing you mention Sky Burger also reminded me of two other Ian Marsh games, Scoops and Textropolis, that I used to have on my iPod. He enjoyed both of those and I just didn't think to download them again and install them on his iPod.
The kids in my family love most of the games listed above (one in particular LOVES the Toy Bot series). Here are some other goodies: Gomi Dizzy Bee 1 & 2 Rolando 1 & 2 Cops & Robbers Super Yum Yum 3 Asterope Little Runner Run! Balloon Headed Boy Joyland Bounce Little Red Sled Hyper Hamster
Castle of Magic is great for kids. My four year old cousin LOVES Rolando (both) The 1 non-app: Have you considered Bikini Blast? lol just kidding, but Castle of Magic and Rolando 1 and 2 are great. He'll love em.
Of the ones posted by others, my almost 8 finds Run! really hard, hasnt been able to get into it. Scoops and Sky Burger are pure genius in the way they are customized to the ability level of the kid. They are totally safe bets. There is just about no kid that wont at least like them a bit.
Peter und Vlad Hi, again did you get it? My son is eleven and he loves it. I got to admit I'm a bit hooked to
go with chuckles, who doesnt like a good chuck norris (lee) fact every once in a while as for games, toy bot is good, they have a new compilation now that has all 3 games for the price of 2
I've got Castle of Magic, but he doesn't seem too interested in it yet. I still think that once he takes a bit more time with it, it'll become one of his favorite games. I've given him these two, plus Lion Pride, but he doesn't seem to care for this type of game. I'm going to download the Peter und Vlad tonight and see what he thinks of that. I like how it looks, so even if he doesn't like it, it'll give me something new to try. I'm going to pass on Bikini Blast, lol, but I think I'm going to have to give Bikini Inspector a try (for me, not him). It's enough like a game that I might be able to explain it to friends when they see it on my iPod.
It's hit or miss, depends on the kid. The kid in question in my family is a "core" gamer in the making, methinks. I've seen his eyes glaze over in some tougher games as he "gets in the zone". If you've ever seen gamers in arcades having that same zen like look on their face as they play a shmup or something (if you've ever seen that documentary on the hunt for the Donkey Kong high score, you've seen this look), he gets that sort of look when playing Run!.
I know that zen look all too well. Although the iPod games I listed don't really bring out the hardcore gamer in my son, give him an xBox 360 controller and load up N+ and he goes straight "into the zone." (If you've never played or heard of N+, it's a game with simple graphics and simple gameplay - hit a switch, get to a door, clear the level - but has some of the most demanding levels I've ever seen, levels that demand that you make absolutely no mistakes.) Anyway, this was the last game that I could point to and say that I was still better than him at video games. But now...not so much. Ah, well. Does a father proud to see his high scores bested by his son.
I know exactly what you mean, my almost 5 boy is a gamer in the making. This morning he was kneeling on the couch with his head between his legs (as in making his body a U) which he claims somehow helps him focus on the games. He will frequently reset minigore if he thinks he dies too early to get a highscore. Since he cant read big numbers, it can get humerous and I have seen him reset when more then half-way to his high score.