games for young children

groan · 03-12-2008, 02:54 PM

OK, as I just admitted in another thread, I am 40 and have a 4 year old.

I'm finding it hard to locate games that he can enjoy, and play.
he has gotten pretty good at the bowling, adn LOVES to watch me play his Cars (tm) games.

Any other parents out there that have found good games for young children?

vashivihan · 03-12-2008, 03:10 PM

i am not a parent but he would probably like games like mario party etc. a key to find good games for chidern is to avoid anything too hardcore like shooters, racing. super mario galaxy would also be a good choice. wii play, carnival games

wezeles · 03-12-2008, 05:04 PM

My son is also 4 and he loves to watch and play just about every Mario "based" game so far.

He acctually beat my wife and his grandma at Mario Party 8 the other day. He also plays Super Smash Brothers Brawl when I let go of the Wii-mote. Not the best game for him to be playing at his age I admit, but its way better than most and its all cartoon violence and not any blood or gore so I let him get away with it.

Also Rayman Raving Rabbits the first or 2nd one he gets into them and will play them. Aswell as Wario Ware Smooth Moves. The games that for the majority of the time use just basic motion sensing and nothing too fancy on the control end are great games for a younger child to learn on and enjoy interacting with.

pdawg17 · 03-12-2008, 05:10 PM

I have a 4 1/2 year old daugther and a 3 year old son and they both love:

Carnival Games
Diego: Safari Rescue

Even my three year old can play those games on his own so your four year old should do fine...

Global War · 03-12-2008, 05:15 PM

maybe endless ocean, your son may enjoy watching the animals. Another good game could be mercury metal revolution

wingflex · 03-12-2008, 05:22 PM

I have a 5 year old son,i would reccomend,highly,Lego star wars the complete saga.I loved the game to and cant wait for indiana jones to come out.

groan · 03-12-2008, 05:35 PM

thanks very much for the recomendations. i'll try renting some of these before i go out and buy them.

goober_nut · 03-13-2008, 12:33 AM

Mercury Meltdown might be a little hard for a 4 yr old. I'm over 25 and I have trouble with some of the boards.

papajuice · 03-13-2008, 03:14 PM

My 4 year old will play:

Wii Sports (Bowling, Tennis, sometimes Golf)
Mario Party 8 (taught him how to use the pointer, good for hand-eye)
Mario Galaxy in Co-Star mode (again, pointer, likes getting stars)
Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue (short, but these are kids, he'll go back and play through it again and again, just like watching the same episodes again and again, we have to tear him away from it once he gets going, plus, you can play along if you want at times)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (yeah, I won't be getting Father Of The Year anytime soon for that one)

Staszy26 · 03-13-2008, 11:05 PM

i am not a parent but i've started playing games with my brother when i was very young, one of my favorite games as a child would be mario party so i would recommend that game for your son cuz your whole family can get involved

Milton.S · 03-13-2008, 11:28 PM

Brain Training may prove a bit too taxing for him.
It does for me and i'm 15

But, consider similar titles in the future.
Cooking Mama is child-friendly and Mario Party 8 is good fun for all the family.

BlueEyes31 · 03-14-2008, 05:06 AM

I have a 5 year old and her favorites are Wii Sports (she kicks butt at bowling and boxing), Wii Play, and Carnival Games. It took her a bit to get used to the whole concept of the buttons and such - she never played video games before we got our Wii - and she still needs some help reading the directions sometimes, but for the most part, she can do it herself.

Hope this helps!

lordrrr · 03-14-2008, 05:13 AM

2D sonic games are the best. Makes the kid feel bada$$ while not having to learn overly complcated controls. Always works for me when I try to get younger kids into gaming.