I am the proud wrangler of three teenagers, and it’s not surprising, given what I do, that they play videogames. They’ve now all developed their own tastes and preferences. I have a younger boy who favours Fortnite, PUBG and Call of Duty zombies, a daughter who loses her mind for anything Zelda related and an older kid who loves Dark Souls and Bloodborne, and pretty much anything that is open world with RPG mechanics. All three of them adore Minecraft.
And while they all have their favourite games and genres now, I did of course try to impart my own preferences on them in the way that parents are wont to do -so I raised them on a steady diet of 8 and 16 bit classics, Mario games through the ages and a heck of a lot of Street Fighter. That all said, when they were young they all loved the original Super Mario Bros platformer games, and we played through emulated arcade classics like Sunset Riders together. Now, about the only thing we all play together is COD Zombies, which has nice split-screen, and party games like Towerfall and the Jackbox Party games.
So, whether you’re a parent, a would-be parent or haven’t even contemplated the thought of having children. Heck, even if you don’t want children at all (and that’s completely fine; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – tell us what games you’d raise your kids on.
Last Updated: November 9, 2018
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 11:17
Fun puzzle games would be great for children. Portal 2, Firewatch, World of Goo, The Witness, even Tetris.
Also mechanically challenging games that may help them become ultra-pro gamers if they really get into gaming. Osu!, Rocket League, Trackmania.
The D
November 9, 2018 at 11:04
The Wind Tunnel stage from Battletoads, so that I can teach the little bastards that life isn’t fair and comes at you hard and fast.
RinceThis
November 9, 2018 at 11:06
oh you utter git! I was just looking for the GIF! You sir, deserve a Bells!
Geoffrey Tim
November 9, 2018 at 11:14
that’s what I taught my kids using Street fighter.
Round 1 Fight
[Hey, can I check the moves]
Hadouken shouryuekn kick kick punch punch
YOU LOSE
[No]
RinceThis
November 9, 2018 at 11:15
damn
Original Heretic
November 9, 2018 at 11:17
If they can’t beat you fair and square, they shouldn’t win.
It makes the first time they beat you all the more satisfying for them.
RinceThis
November 9, 2018 at 11:06
CoD you motha fu**er! Seriously though, it’s OBVIOUSLY Battletoads. It’s a game that teaches patience, perseverance, and how to blame your younger brother every time you mess up, right OvG?! ![Super Battletoads – Level 2] https://i.makeagif.com/media/8-14-2015/n0aNej.gif
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 9, 2018 at 11:06
I raised my niece on Unreal Tournament. One of my proudest moments was when I overheard her tell the bot that just killed her, “I’m not a bitch, you’re a bitch!”
Pariah
November 9, 2018 at 11:06
My son is heavy into Minecraft and Roblox. From early on I tried to get him into problem-solving games and encouraged him to persist and keep trying to solve the problems presented to him. He loved platformers especially.
HvR
November 9, 2018 at 11:58
Same here. What I do like about both is that there is online play with enough checks and balances that only kids are joining the games that I only need to check chat logs every week or so just to be sure that there is nothing dodge going on.
He also likes a lot of the indie sandbox type titles, Slime Rancher, Terratech, Tasty Planet etc etc
Matthew Figueira
November 9, 2018 at 11:07
Definitely the classics – particularly platformers and adventure games – before moving up to more “modern” titles. Original Mario and Zelda titlles, followed by a sprinkling of Ori and Cuphead 😛
THEIR REFLEXES AND PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITIES WILL BE UNPARALLELED!
Or they can play whatever the hell they want to play – within reason of course. I grew up on the likes of Quake, Doom, and RE (1-3). I wouldn’t necessarily want my kid playing the same ilk though – at least not so young.
Pariah
November 9, 2018 at 11:08
I think Doom is fine, but in general applying some common sense is good. Each child is different. Some can cope just fine with that kind of game, and others will lose sleep or try to emulate. Just be an active parent and you’ll be good.
RinceThis
November 9, 2018 at 11:12
yeah, and look how YOU turned out…
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 11:22
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/66e1bcc9e3c16c2752d53368a867323d37a429c7a7b0a7d2de5e458d45eeb663.gif
Geoffrey Tim
November 9, 2018 at 11:12
My daughter beat cuphead and I’ve never been so proud.
Matthew Figueira
November 9, 2018 at 11:54
What a legend!
I still gotta play that game 🙁
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
November 12, 2018 at 14:49
She needs school no longer
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 9, 2018 at 11:12
Kids? Brussel sprouts.
Matthew Figueira
November 9, 2018 at 11:54
O_O
Admiral Chief
November 9, 2018 at 11:58
Are you guys preggerz? Awwww, congrats!
Matthew Figueira
November 9, 2018 at 13:04
O_O!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pariah
November 9, 2018 at 13:13
LOL!
RinceThis
November 9, 2018 at 13:14
lol
Admiral Chief
November 9, 2018 at 11:12
Half Life 1, then 2, then 2 episode 1, then 2 episode 2, then……….learn the hard lesson that life can be unfair and screw you and prepare for disappointment
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 13:14
That’ll learn him!
Pariah
November 9, 2018 at 16:14
Vokken prawns.
Big Jon V
November 9, 2018 at 11:12
My little guy (4) is having an absolute blast playing Mario Odyssey from my post-game save like a big sandbox, as well as Sonic Mania.
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 11:12
Oh that’s easy. Rocket League because Rocket League.
Admiral Chief
November 9, 2018 at 11:12
DAIKATANA
Geoffrey Tim
November 9, 2018 at 11:12
Why would you do that to your own children?
Admiral Chief
November 9, 2018 at 11:16
It’s a hard knock life
Pariah
November 9, 2018 at 11:13
is’ie so lekker as’ie anner eene nie.
Original Heretic
November 9, 2018 at 11:16
I got my boy the recent SNES machine. He loved it. But then I noticed that he was always jamming the racing game.
So, me being a good father and all, I thought I’d show him Trackmania on my PS4. Ya know, blow his little mind with how awesome racing games have become.
Now he ONLY jams on my PS4. Loves the Lego games. We can jam those together.
Soon, he’s getting Spyro remastered!
Pariah
November 9, 2018 at 11:17
Legend
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 11:17
Fun puzzle games would be great for children. Portal 2, Firewatch, World of Goo, The Witness, even Tetris.
Also mechanically challenging games that may help them become ultra-pro gamers if they really get into gaming. Osu!, Rocket League, Trackmania.
Pariah
November 9, 2018 at 13:17
Wow, imagine raising a kid just playing Osu. The kind of reactions they’d have…
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 13:20
It’s hard to imagine that anyone could beat the current cream of the crop. I don’t think I can even click my keys as fast as them without pointing at any circles.
konfab
November 9, 2018 at 11:18
I was very lucky with my old man he used to play Counter-strike (1, 1.6 and Source) with us. I have very precious memories of him taking us to the local internet cafe and playing with me and my brothers.
Later when my parents got divorced, he moved into a house one down from us. We setup a wifi lan between the houses and had semi-regular LANs.
Later he setup a LAN room in his house with enough computers so that we could all play.
With that in mind, I think the best games to play are the games that parents can play with their kids. Be it Minecraft or the Lego games when they are younger, or a strategy game when they are older.
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 11:20
I’m not crying, you’re crying!
Skyblue
November 9, 2018 at 22:26
Very cool. Did something similar with my 20yr old (no divorce though) but with Quake. Since then he’s been in the competitive CS scene and still jams Quake Champions now. Younger son is all about hardcore console titles. At 14 he’s finished all the Dark Souls titles as well as Bloodborne with the Batman games serving as his “tutorials” since he was about 7.
Very different gamer’s but gamer’s nonetheless.
G8crasha
November 9, 2018 at 11:31
Mario…I have nothing more to say!
Allykhat
November 9, 2018 at 11:41
Manhunt.
Admiral Chief
November 9, 2018 at 11:42
HAH
For the Emperor!
November 9, 2018 at 11:42
I would raise them on Dungeons & Dragons (or other RPG systems), board games, Single Player only role playing games, and some HotS. They need to learn the social skills, improvisation and thinking outside of the box. Single player games to keep them from the internet toxicity, and HotS to give them limited exposure to it. Other than that up to them as they mature. I would want to spend family time with them, not just plop them in front of a TV or computer to “rest”.
*Oh, and Warhammer 40K! Need someone to play against!
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 12:47
Now that you’ve covered the chores, what games will you let them play?
For the Emperor!
November 9, 2018 at 13:58
Mowing the lawn, washing the car, ironing etc. All the stuff I do not want to do 😛
Admiral Chief
November 9, 2018 at 11:50
CS on dial up
Jiggy
November 9, 2018 at 12:05
Have a boxed NES and SNES waiting for the day kid number one comes along.
Admiral Chief
November 9, 2018 at 12:07
Well, time to get JIGGY with the mrs then!
Jiggy
November 9, 2018 at 12:09
The mrs and I have a bit more bucket list items left to do first.
G8crasha
November 9, 2018 at 12:27
Keep them longer, and they will become so valuable, you could most probably retire on the sale of them!
kieker
November 9, 2018 at 12:09
sadistic answer: doki doki literature club.
non-sadistic answer: Mario, zelda, ori, puzzle games like world of goo, braid, limbo, etc. see what they gravitate towards later and find games that suit them, within reason ofc.
Magoo
November 9, 2018 at 12:44
Good god I hope no young child ever plays Doki doki. x.x
kieker
November 9, 2018 at 13:52
yeah, it fucked me up when i played it this year, and i’m an adult going on 31 now.
Gavin Mannion
November 9, 2018 at 12:21
My kids have been raised on Minecraft, Overwatch and The Sims mainly…
Now that they are older they are moving into weird retro games for some arb reason and also some platformers.
HvR
November 9, 2018 at 12:31
“Now that they are older they are moving into weird retro games for some arb reason”
Probably had to much contact with weird Uncle Geoff?
Gavin Mannion
November 9, 2018 at 13:06
I may not be a good person but I’m a great dad. I wouldn’t let them near that freak
Skoobaz
November 9, 2018 at 12:49
My boys are 3 and 2 years old. Still kinda small for video games in general. At this stage it’s more NB for them to have tactile experience and fun in the sun playing in mud and climbing trees. But I’ll set up an awesome take off and tight dog leg landing session on FSX, Put it on replay repeat and let ’em sit with the controllers and jam buttons. The 3 yr old be like “look at me Dad, I’m flying just like you!” I’m doing my PPL so anything planes they go nuts. Funny that…
When they’re a little older I’ll start em off with platformers, running dosbox of the older games like prince of persia and the lucasarts stuff etc. Let em get an understanding of programming just like I did then slowly introduce them to the more flashy graphics that we have these days. I think the evolution that a lot of us older guys went through from DOS to windows, linux and consoles on the side was really cool so want my kids to have a similar appreciation.
Craig Lotter
November 9, 2018 at 20:38
My eldest girl (7) plays Lego, Slime Rancher and Cities Skylines with me. She’s not overly fond of anything competitive.
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
November 12, 2018 at 14:50
Manhunt