My 9yo daughter has a tablet with family link, so I can monitor what apps she wants to install. As the garbage games are mostly at the top free, she keeps asking for games that I reject, in most cases because it’s riddled with ads.

The Play Store has a section for kids, which seems to have better quality apps and games. Also thinking to subscribe to Play Pass so she can try out paid games.

Any other tips? Especially how to find good free / paid games. I don’t mind paying for good games.

Also I’m aware I can block ads using eg Pi Hole (already doing that) or sometimes putting it on airplane mode, but that’s not my point. I want to find and support quality games.

  • ZILtoid1991@kbin.social
    14·
    1 year ago

    Install an emulator for her alongside with some roms. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much the only option we have nowadays.

      • sic_semper_tyrannis@feddit.chEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Lemuroid is a great open source emulator. Vimm’s Lair is a great place to find games/ROMs. It’s difficult to play games though that require the bumper buttons on a touch screen. Maybe consider getting her a retro gaming handheld device. They can either run based on Linux, so an emulator, or Android which can operate like normal and then you can select an emulator to play. ETA Prime has lots of reviews of these devices.

        • sylverstream@lemmy.nzOP
          2·
          1 year ago

          Awesome, thanks! I’ve tried retro gaming before but they didn’t really like it, we also had a Wii for a couple of weeks, but perhaps I should try again.

  • luciole (he/him)@beehaw.org
    10·
    1 year ago

    When my kid was younger he had a “garbage games on tablet” phase as well. As others have said, paid games are the way to go (Play Pass sounds cool). Looking for indie games for Android, or PC games ported to Android gives some good results. Stardew Valley’s an obvious one. I haven’t played Ordia, but it looks gorgeous.

    What worked really well for us was to teach him about some dark patterns in simple terms and spot them with him in the freemiums he was playing. “Fear of Missing Out” events/notifications and “Progression Paywalls” are typical ones. It made him realize the game wasn’t built to give him a good time as much as to frustrate him into endlessly spending real money in exchange for some phony currency. In the end he was happy to switch to saner games. It’s a good opportunity to work on their critical judgment basically.

    • sylverstream@lemmy.nzOP
      2·
      1 year ago

      Thanks for your insights. My goal as well is to teach them instead of just refusing those games. She already starts to understand better.

      SV was a favourite but we’ve played it a lot already and we have lost interest. Will look into Ordia!

  • morganth@discuss.tchncs.de
    10·
    1 year ago

    This is probably not a terribly helpful answer, but on the iOS side, there is Apple Arcade, which is a huge library of “free” (aka included with the subscription) games that don’t have any ads or microtransactions. If there’s an Android equivalent, just give her that as her app store. You’d spend a set amount per month and keep her away from the predatory business models.

  • tra@lemm.ee
    6·
    1 year ago

    “Shattered pixel dungeon” is a rouge-like top down rpg with no ads and is quite fun. You can only pay if you choose to support the dev.

    • RBG@discuss.tchncs.de
      1·
      1 year ago

      As much as I like that game, the learning curve is steep af! Unless the little one handles frustration well, it will be a hard sell.

  • DAMunzy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    6·
    1 year ago

    Private DNS server. Blocks most ads even in games.

    Here’s what I posted in another thread:

    Private DNS FTW!

    dns.adguard.com

    On Android:

    1. Swipe down and select settings (the gear)
    2. Search for: DNS
    3. Select Private DNS.
    4. Select Private DNS again.
    5. Select Private DNS provider hostname.
    6. Enter: dns.adguard.com
    7. Select Save
    8. Enjoy most ads being blocked in apps.
    9. Might work poorly on public wifi (Walmart wifi for example doesn’t work with a private DNS set).

    On Apple:

    1. Fuck if I know.
  • variants@possumpat.ioEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    There’s an app called mini review that has reviews for games you can browse through there but not sure if there is a kids section but it’s helpful to filter out as heavy games.

    I’ll never forget my friends kid being upset on our camping trip while we waited in the car in a store run saying how he has no wifi out there so he can’t watch his ads for coins

  • kratoz29@lemm.eeEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    Ahh… I remember simpler times when we had proper handheld devices… and not having to deal with ads bullshit (shovelware was a thing though).

    Perhaps the Nintendo Switch might be a good option down the road?

    If not I agree about Chinese handhelds, there are so many out there and they keep improving over time.

    • sylverstream@lemmy.nzOP
      3·
      1 year ago

      Yeah was thinking about a switch, but I’m a bit reluctant due to high cost of games. They mainly use the tablet to game while traveling, at home they play with their toys or on the xbox.

      • Terrasque@infosec.pub
        2·
        1 year ago

        Maybe steam deck could be an alternative? Hardware itself is more expensive, but there’s so much good cheap or even free games.

  • Snoopy@jlai.lu
    5·
    1 year ago

    It’s not easy finding good game, harder for young kid :

    • Andor’s trail
    • Room
    • Mindustry
    • Mindtest, control may not be good
    • Milo milo, can’t recall its name but its a puzzle
    • Dragon quest
    • Broken age
    • Machinarium (and all anamita game)
  • slauraure@beehaw.org
    5·
    1 year ago

    I think the category you’re looking for is premium games. On mobile it appears to mean that the game is complete and not sold in pieces.