Some good PC games to give to/play with a 7-10 year old? Single and multiplayer

[CU]

How about the Transformer games on steam. I really like them and so do my 5 and 8 year old boys. Yes, they are shooting, but we are talking about robots not people. Plus they pretend the toys shoot each other anyway. They also love Minecraft and Terraria. Although in with minecraft once they found out about mods they kept asking for me to install them. They also play Supreme Commander. I wouldn't call them good at it, but they know how to put some AI's on their team so they don't get killed to quickly. They are not allowed to play any shooting people games or games with blood that isn't more than a red pixel like in Terraria. By the way Terraria has guns. But, we are talking NES graphics here not COD.

 

[Revolution 11]

This will seem like a weird choice but if you had the old Phantom Menace game for the PC, that would offer enough challenge to young gamers and offer strong brand power. As long as the kid can get past the ancient graphics....but if he can, the whole world of old LucasArts games are fair game, like Tie Fighter, Dark Forces, Day of the Tentacle, etc, etc.

These games are challenging but approachable, have little harmful content to kids yet offer mature experiences. I would recommend the old Sierra adventure games as well but many of them do have sex/violence that is not suitable for children.

Otherwise, the Portal games are a good start for modern games....

 

[Blue_Max]

My kids and I enjoy all the LEGO series of games, as well as Space Engineers, Euro Truck Simulator 2, SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed (use controllers!!), and Rayman Origins and Legends.

Space Engineers is particularly fun and VERY creative! Build your own ships and worlds then (role)play in it! Steam usually has all these on some tasty sales, like the SEGA racing 4-pack to share with friends for only $15!

 

[mmntech]

Unfortunately Steam doesn't make it very easy to find family friendly games. Off the top of my head...

Minecraft
Portal
Kerbal Space Program
SimCity 4
Civilization V
Shovel Knight

The old LucasArts adventure games. Both original Monkey Island games got an update.

You could also install some emulators and introduce them to the classics.

 

[Blue_Max]

^^ Heh... I'd like to have a father/son afternoon of Gauntlet II!

 

[frozentundra123456]

Forgot to mention in my earlier post, the Sam and Max episodic series was really good. They might need help with some of the puzzles, but on the other hand, my grandson who was about 12 when they came out could figure most of them out better than I could. I particularly enjoyed the first year, it got a bit stale after that.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

I'd personally give younger children games which challenge them mentally a bit, puzzle games, adventure games, certainly keep any kind of violence as cartoony, things like plants vs zombies. Any kind of sandbox games ought to go down well with their developing imagination, i'd definitely recommend things like minecraft and other kind of free build games, maybe Terraria and the lego building games.

I think more than anything making sure you sit down with them before hand and explain what the games are, what they mean, that they're not real and they're fantasy and shouldn't be copied in real life. I think that's more important honestly.

 

[DeathReborn]

I recently had the same thing with my nephew, he likes playing Halo and things like that with his older cousins but I have gotten him into the Worms games. He loves the humour and it's great to get 3-4 of them playing it in Hot Seat mode like I used to way back when.

I also recommend:

Crayon Physics Deluxe
Magicka
F1 Race Stars
Terraria/Starbound

 

[MeldarthX]

Roblox my 7 year old loves; we were playing plants vs zombie......and now take turns playing pvz garden warfare; he loves the boss mode for strat.

world of goo; kingdom rush; *any castle defender game* Civ games are also good. Lego games are also good; mindcraft......just depends on what you want to do.

Champions Online is free to play; my son and I enjoy playing that; he's got a free toon and I have my paid account

BTW Gauntlet is being remade/master and should be out soon which I will be picking up for myself and my son

 

[BSim500]

If you liked Worms Armageddon, try Hedgewars. It's free, just as funny and works far better "out of the box" on modern systems.

 

[Chapbass]

I would suggest the lego games as well. Not too boring for adults and great for kids. Also maybe some of the old RTS games like Age of Empires or Rise of Nations. Seven is a bit young for those, but when he was 10 my grandson was quite good at galactic battlegrounds.

I would not let anyone that age play on-line without close supervision, even something like minecraft, since some of the fan generated content can be quite violent or other wise inappropriate. Torchlight, yea, it is all fantasy, but it seems pretty bloody for a seven year old. Actually it all depends on the child. My grandson played pretty much anything after the age of 10 and grew up to be one of the least violent people I know, but it might affect someone else differently. Also there are a lot of children's games like Curious George, Pajama Sam series, Jump Start series, etc. that he might enjoy.

One cool thing about Rise of Nations: You can play as the same nation together. Two computers, controlling the same units and same buildings. Then, divide up the tasks that the two of you does. I used to play this with a buddy of mine, I would do all of the economy, he would do all the military. This makes it a little more focused, not as crazy, and definitely very cooperative.

 

[Chapbass]

Came here to post Dungeon Defenders and the Lego games. I'm 29 and have a blast with both of them, and for a 7-10 year old i think it would be amazing.

 

[Blue_Max]

I'd personally give younger children games which challenge them mentally a bit, puzzle games, adventure games, certainly keep any kind of violence as cartoony, things like plants vs zombies. Any kind of sandbox games ought to go down well with their developing imagination, i'd definitely recommend things like minecraft and other kind of free build games, maybe Terraria and the lego building games.

That's why my kids and I LOVE Space Engineers. Build ships and stations out of the blocks they give you, then USE them. In addition to dogfighting with our homemade spaceships, he learns basic principles of power, gravity, momentum, use of resources, etc.

...and dang if he isn't a fantastic pilot! Great spatial 3D perception of where his ship as he threads through a tunnel in an asteroid or a homemade obstacle course. Good thing I've got better target-leading or he'd beat me every time in a dogfight.

 

[AFurryReptile]

A friend of mine has been playing Octodad: Dadliest Catch with his daughter, and their loving it. Seems like a fun/frustrating two-player experience.

 

[bigi]

I did introduce by 8 and 7 years old to the following oldies which they did like:

Moon Patrol (remake)
Boulder Dash (remake)
Frogger (original)

Also from newer titles - Portal 1/2.

 

[Alok_Awasthi]

Brothers : A tale of two Sons

 

[gorobei]

Left 4 dead.

Kids love zombies. I have been playing left 4 dead with my grandkids. It scares the crap out of them.

Titan quest
Diablo II - not on steam
Warcraft II - not on steam
Serious sam

classic grandparent move: spoil them with candy and zombies, let their parents deal with the dental bills and nightmares

 

[yepp]

Speedrunners

 

[DigDog]

jesus seriously?

i'm the kind of guy who can spend a whole day playing quake but 7yo is way too young for videogames. take him to the park or something.

 

[BizHat]

My 7 year old nephew play minecraft, Runescape and counter strike source. Cs may not suitable for his age, but her love playing the game.

 

[Malladine]

If nobody has already mentioned it: Mario Kart. Yeah not PC gaming but it's amazing.

And this but without the angst:

jesus seriously?

i'm the kind of guy who can spend a whole day playing quake but 7yo is way too young for videogames. take him to the park or something.

I will say have been a pretty hardcore gamer and even try to play some now I have kids, but even so I didn't start until I was 9 or so (iirc with Wonder Boy on the Master System (Genesis). And I am very glad I had all those years to establish a solid love of the outdoors. I continue to mix indoor and outdoor into my life. I feel bad for kids, and adults, who don't have that.

Of course it's a different world now, we'll see how I am when my kids reach that age.

 

[yepp]

BattleBlock Theater

 

[DeadFred]

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, and no its nothing like the mobile game PvZ you have on your phone and tablet. This is a 3D shooter that uses the same Frostbite engine as BF4. Even though its an online shooter, its violence is cartoonish and humorous, my son loves it.

Its available now to play for free foe 72 hours on Origin Gametime - http://www.pvzgardenwarfare.com/

I highly recommend checking it out, I like playing it myself.

 

[Homerboy]

A) Thanks a MILLION DeadFred for the heads up on PvZGW. I've been wanting to try this game out before I bought it. Will be giving it a test-run tonigth!

B) Minecraft for the OP. My kids have been playing for a couple of years now and they love it. The beauty of it too is it's been teaching them how to use a computer... games got me interested in the inner workings of PCs back in the day and Minecraft can have the same effect on kids. With all the mods and hacks and junk there is so much to do. I came home the other day and my 13yr old was SUPER excited that he had "been figuring out config files all day" and had pieces of paper with all his notes and junk scribbled out.

The options and gameplay types for MC are endless too. So much can be done.

 

[Homerboy]

BattleBlock Theater

Playing with daughter on Xbox. It's awesome and HILARIOUS.