Escapists with little ones/shorties/childern, What games would you recommend for teaching a small kid how to learn to play?

[Dalisclock]

So I grew up gaming a LONG times ago, starting on an Atari 2600(?), NES and so on. I've been into video games like most of my life and my kid loves watching me play(so I play games that appropriate for her when she's around). She's quite interested in playing for real and I'm fine with that, but the trick is I'm not sure how to teach her how to actually play/use a controller/etc.

I mean, just because I grew up using a NES controller and playing nintendo hard games doesn't mean that's the best way to ease someone in, especially for a 4 year old who can get frustrated easily when she can't do something RIGHT AWAY. So I've been trying to find games to ease her into using the controller and pick up the basics before moving onto more complex/difficult games. So far I've tried Mario Cart(the original on the Switch Online NES emulator) and since that game is relatively easy to control and there are modes which are basically learning the courses without any real pressure. And It kinda worked, but she's still having a rough time learning the controls(she'll keep driving into corners on the track and get out with some help only to keep driving into walls and corners). I know it's gonna take time but any suggestions are welcome. I've considered Mario games but Mario games can actually be quite difficult for someone who hasn't figured out how to use a controller yet and anything that minimizes the number of buttons required to play is great(Which would suggest the NES but a lot of NES games were HARD).

For reference, I have a Switch, an PS3(backwards compatible), PS4 and PC, so I have a fairly wide range I can pull from. I haven't precluded PC games either but a controller seems like it might be easier to learn then a mouse right now.

 

[Chimpzy]

Don't have any kids, but at an old job I had several colleagues with kids. One had toddlers and he swore by the Traveller's Tales Lego games. As he told me, simple enough for young children, basically no penalty for failure, and they usually have couch coop so you can lead by example.

 

[bobdark]

My son (now 8) started playing Minecraft when he was 4. As he grew up we let him play games like Poly Bridge, Turbo Dismount, and Tracks.

He now plays Teardown, Brickrigs, BeamNG, Cooking Simulator, Farming Simulator, and Car Mechanic. I just show him the controls and let him go, and as long as he doesn't get too frustrated I just let him go.

My wife and I are of the mindset that we just show him a bunch of games on Steam (hopefully on sale) and let him pick, if he decides it wasn't fun, oh well another game for the backlog.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

The lego games. There's a ton of them, they have pretty easy controls, and they're actually somewhat clever.

 

[BrawlMan]

Aside from the Lego games, I'll recommend them either Genesis Collections on 8th or 7th gen consoles. Or Streets of Rage 4 and start them on Easy or Normal. The controls are not complicated and they can customized to be even simpler.

• Rayman Legends
• Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze
• Kaze and the Wild Maks
• Capcom Arcade Museum (Switch)
• Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair

How old are your kids again?

 

[meiam]

Pokemon, they're as difficult or easy as you want them to be (you can always just only use your starter to easily win every encounter and you can do some grindding for her if she's ever stuck), turn base so you don't need good mastery of the control and the initial simplicity hide a lot of depths. You can then use it to branch out to other game (snap is a good introduction to basic FPS concept and control, SSB can introduce fighting/action game).

 

[bobdark]

Also Mario Maker has been a lot of fun for my son as well (he doesn't go online) but he enjoys making levels and running them.

 

[Eacaraxe]

My first gaming system was a Commodore 64, and my first memory of ever playing a video game was Alien, so...Alien: Isolation?

Just like throwing your kid in the pool without water wings. That mammalian diving reflex and instinct kicks in, and the kid learns to swim on their own with a nice side of childhood trauma and a valuable lesson to trust no one in life. Except the pool is made of acid and has a nice whirlpool motor at the bottom to create a nice, powerful down current.

God, that game made me so mad as a little kid. Not because of its difficulty or the obscurity of its game mechanics, I wanted to play as Ash or the xenomorph. Also, I always found it beyond hilarious as a kid that Kane could survive in the C64 game.

 

[happyninja42]

So I grew up gaming a LONG times ago, starting on an Atari 2600(?), NES and so on. I've been into video games like most of my life and my kid loves watching me play(so I play games that appropriate for her when she's around). She's quite interested in playing for real and I'm fine with that, but the trick is I'm not sure how to teach her how to actually play/use a controller/etc.

I mean, just because I grew up using a NES controller and playing nintendo hard games doesn't mean that's the best way to ease someone in, especially for a 4 year old who can get frustrated easily when she can't do something RIGHT AWAY. So I've been trying to find games to ease her into using the controller and pick up the basics before moving onto more complex/difficult games. So far I've tried Mario Cart(the original on the Switch Online NES emulator) and since that game is relatively easy to control and there are modes which are basically learning the courses without any real pressure. And It kinda worked, but she's still having a rough time learning the controls(she'll keep driving into corners on the track and get out with some help only to keep driving into walls and corners). I know it's gonna take time but any suggestions are welcome. I've considered Mario games but Mario games can actually be quite difficult for someone who hasn't figured out how to use a controller yet and anything that minimizes the number of buttons required to play is great(Which would suggest the NES but a lot of NES games were HARD).

For reference, I have a Switch, an PS3(backwards compatible), PS4 and PC, so I have a fairly wide range I can pull from. I haven't precluded PC games either but a controller seems like it might be easier to learn then a mouse right now.

You might try any turned based games, as they won't require fast paced reactions, so the kid will have time to process what's going on. Things like Pokemon, or the old school FF games, or similarly inspired recent titles would probably all be doable. The dialogue is usually very simple, straight forward text, clearly written in bite sized chunks, so if the kid is still learning to read, it would likely help them pick up new vocabulary as they go. The controls usually boil down to just "Accept/Decline" and "Move cursor to option on menu you want" and "Move character up/down/left/right on map" So all should be easily grasped for a kid of 4ish.

As far as a game that is fun and is pretty simple rules wise, that I have recently played, is Wargroove. It's fun, light hearted, has that sprite animation style that a lot of the early Final Fantasy games have. Plus, it has a battle dog commander, It's literally a big, fluffy (I think Bernese Mountain Dog breed) woofers, with a helmet and a breastplate. He is such a Good Boy, and so floofy and majestic, that he has a special commander ability to woof and inspire his nearby allies. He's even got a sub-mission line of his own, where he goes off to fight the badguys with some troopers, and they are all just dumbfounded by his majestic woofiness. I don't know a kid that wouldn't love that, as I sure as hell did and I was in my 40s when I played it.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

PaRappa the Rapper is on PS4 IIRC. Great for teaching rhythm, language and phonics.

Flower also got a PS4 update. One of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played, and it’s only one button and six axis controls.

 

[09philj]

The LEGO games are all very simple and good at teaching game logic, have co-op, and have enough charm to make them not utterly tedious for an adult to join in with.
Early arcade games tend to use few buttons and have very simple premises, so they're worth a look. Galaga, Pac-Man, Pong, Bubble Bobble, and so on. Also Bomberman.
With Mario Maker you can design platforming levels that take the experience to a sub World 1-1 level that can teach platforming mechanics.

 

[Dreiko]

Dark Souls, gotta start em young!


(A basic platformer or simple puzzle game like that old ms dos thing where you run a diner and gotta give customers their orders correctly works too, I think I was playing that when I was like 4-5)



Also a thing I would do was play with my dad, so like, if you have simple piloting and shooting game, he'd let me do the shooting and he'd maneuver the plane/helicopter, whatever it was. There was this starwars spaceship game which had a lot of that kinda stuff. So if you game on PC you can maybe just give the kid a task to do to help you with as you play, maybe handle the reload or something like that.

 

[Dalisclock]

Appreciate the feedback. I have a number of the lego games so I'll try some of those with her. I'll also look at some of the simpler arcade-type games as well.

Dark Souls, gotta start em young!

Oh, I'll introduce it to her eventually. But that'll be later when she's ready to learn about how Life beats you into the dirt with a giant fucking hammer

 

[Terminal Blue]

So, I don't have kids so take what I say accordingly. But it sounds like what's really important to her is playing with you, so I wouldn't stress too much about how quickly she picks things up. I think most console games are going to be a struggle for a typical four year old, but if she sees you playing with a controller she's going to want to do that too. Don't underestimate the fundamental novelty of a kid getting to do things their parents do. Even if there is some momentary frustration, I wouldn't assume that's going to sour the overall experience.

If you were looking for something that would be very easy and lack the control issues, there are going to be a lot of phone and ipad games designed for very specific ages. But that's not necessarily going to have the magical appeal of playing with a console.

 

[bluegate]

Start 'em out with some good old Super Mario Brothers on the NES.

You can only walk left and right and jump up and down. The controller and first level's simplicity are pretty good starting points to get them used to having the television react to their button presses.