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Learn About Kids’ Games

What are Kids’ Games?

Kids’ games include any video game designed to be played by children. Such games are often, but need not necessarily be, educational in nature. They feature age-appropriate content, with no realistic violence or inappropriate themes. They naturally avoid too-complex rule systems and are designed to be aesthetically appealing to certain age brackets. Within that broad definition, there are a great many subcategories of children’s games.

The History of Kids’ Games

Before looking at the history of games specifically designed for children, it should be noted that most popular early arcade and home games would probably be considered as appropriate for children as adults. Pong, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., etc., contained no objectionable material which parents might has sought to shield their children from. Only later would games with more mature content and themes, such as Mortal Kombat and Doom, enter the mainstream of gaming. The 1990s saw an increase in controversy over adult themes and violence in video games. Eventually parents’ desire to protect children from certain games led to the creation of a ratings system, the ERSB, in 1994.

That said, however, there has long been a demand for games which specifically cater to children. As the use of home computers and consoles for gaming has grown more widespread over the last thirty years, the demand for kids’ video games has expanded as well.

In 1971, Don Rawitsch, a student history teacher from Carleton College, decided to create a computer game to explain a certain aspect of American history to his young students. With the help of two other student teachers, he created one of the most enduring and iconic of all kids’ games: Oregon Trail. The game has been revised many times since, but the essence of the game remains the same: the player is responsible for leading a party of pioneers from Missouri to Oregon, facing the same challenges that real-life Americans did on the trail in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Originally released for the home computer, it has more recently been ported to new devices such as the iPhone. Oregon Trail is typical of a successful educational video game: it provides accurate knowledge while also entertaining the students. A spin-off, Yukon Trail, was also created.

In 1985 Brøderbund Software published Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, which teaches players geography as they hunt down a globe-trotting fugitive. Sequels included more specific locales, and one branched out into teaching history as well through the device of time-travel. The series was so popular it inspired television shows, board games, and other cross-media spin-offs.

Another major educational franchise began in 1987 with the release of Davidson Associates’ Math Blaster!, which taught children mathematics as part of an astronaut-themed game. Math Blaster! was remade several times and, beginning in the mid-1990s, its model was expanded to teach other subjects as well. Yet another franchise, JumpStart, which premiered in the 1990s, focuses on a variety of subjects and age groups.

Other games which provide a combination of learning and fun place more emphasis on the latter than those above. In this category might be included Feeding Frenzy, in which the player rises up the ocean food chain by eating other fish. Virtual pet games not only provide a substitute for real pets but also prepare the child for the responsibilities that come with caring for a living animal.

Another genre of children’s games includes those adapted from other media. Such games have grown increasingly popular in recent years. The children’s television network Nickelodeon, for example, has successfully marketed video games based on some of its popular series, such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants. Also, LucasArts has worked with the Lego Company to develop video games based on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises which are designed to appeal to a younger audience.

Who Would Be Interested in Kids’ Games?

Since kids’ games are marketed toward a specific group, children, the answer to this question might seem obvious. Nonetheless, the great variety of games and the rapid development of children’s minds as they grow up necessitate a certain level of caution from parents. They should carefully check to see whether a game is appropriate for their child’s age and abilities, as well as if the game contains material likely to interest the child.

In addition, some adults may find that they enjoy games that are ostensibly for children. Nostalgic gamers in their twenties or thirties may find it appealing to revisit the games of their youth.