Suggestions for Non-violent Computer Games for 8 Year Old Boy

Why do you not let him do Minecraft in Creative Mode? Then it is just building things and he can play the same game as most of his friends. My son is 11 and he likes Portal, racing games (such as Forza and Need for Speed) , puzzle games (such as the Impossible Game). He likes Monopoly (on the xbox...we all do!). He likes Just Dance. He liked Skylanders when he was 8. He likes some soccer game he has on the xbox. He likes skateboard games like Skate. He really likes music games. He likes Terraria. He likes Crossy Road. Have fun.

M., seriously consider Minecraft in creative mode. My son played only in creative for quite a long time. He's 8, nearly nine.

Here's the thing I love about Minecraft-- out of all the games out there, this one is used by teachers (in creative mode, MinecraftEdu), has multiple levels of sophistication, technical manuals for kids (my son reads these and will go grab them during play to consult), and it is a way to connect with other kids. I'm not joking-- having this in common with his classmates has increased his social life just because they have something to talk about of mutual interest. He doesn't play online, either, unless he's on a closed server in an instructional setting.

He's also learning Java coding through an online Create Your Own Minecraft Mods course. He has learned some cooperation and team planning through an afterschool Minecraft Mini-Games class and got to work with kids as old as 6th grade.

I'll also say that the violence isn't gory, although the sound effects can be a bit much for me. We really did our research on this before we decided to go forward with letting him play. Consequentially, Kiddo is so into Minecraft that he's not hankering to play other games which are far more obnoxious. I'll also add that sometimes, it's far better to give kids a safe place to try out those 'bad' things with virtual consequences than to completely forbid any sort of game which has aspects you don't like. I'm not fond of shooting or stealing or those sorts of behaviors, either, but my son working to slay the Enderdragon for the Egg it releases makes him have to think of all the things he must do to accomplish this, to plan ahead, etc. (and no, I'm not a gamer at all-- I got this through osmosis and I DO pay attention to what's going on when he's on the computer.) All in all, this isn't like a single person shooter game and it has a lot of value.

why don't you do minecraft?
?
i mean, it's the obvious best choice, no?
khairete
S.

This doesn't answer the question - but I have played minecraft. It is no more violent than Star Wars as far as I am concerned. As much as I would like to shelter my 9 year old son from shooting, guns, etc - I also don't want him to be the one child at the lunch table who can't talk about minecraft. That is why he saw his first PG-13 with the new Star Wars movie. It is a very tough thing - this parenting gig. My parents didn't allow anything and I was very socially awkward because I couldn't relate to the lunchroom conversation.

We allow minecraft, coolmath, anything on PBSkids.org (we also have a 5 year old), and various other websites sent home by school. I also utilize a web blocker so that they can only go to the websites we have authorized. It works for now...Good luck!

Why no Minecraft? It's a great game, especially for this age.

Do you have a game system or are you just looking for stuff on a computer, tablet or phone? If you have a game system, my kids spend hours and hours and hours on any of the Lego games...Lego Batman, Lego Star Wars, etc. They like Disney Infinity and we just got the new Star Wars set for that...before that, we had the Marvel version. Both are a lot of fun. They also love sports games...NHL, Madden, NCAA Football (although they haven't come out with a new version of that for a few years) all from EA sports are great. And they play racing games too...I think the Need for Speed series is non-violent and they earn points to buy cooler cars or modify their cars.

For their iPad, they play a lot of games where they have to move cars through parking garages without crashing. Not sure what the appeal is, but they love it. I can't remember the name of that series but it's silly fun. They also like Clumsy Ninja, which is really cute.

If he likes puzzles, there are some fun puzzle games (solitaire, sudoku, various word games) and of course, the time killers like Candy Crush, Bejeweled Blitz and other games that are a combination of luck and skill.

Poptropica is one example of a game which mostly involves exploring various virtual worlds and solving puzzles; there is a tiny amount of non-gory conflict, but it's a game created by Scholastic Books, so the emphasis is overwhelmingly on education.

I will join the chorus of voices suggesting that you give Minecraft a try in the Creative mode. It allows for some great exploration and has good social potential too. A kid in my son's class set up his own server (able to control who could join it) and a group of the boys from the class built an airport, several other buildings, and a small town. It wasn't without friction and they lost interest (or moved on to other interests) within a year, however it was a great experience.

Roblox has a ton of games (many designed by users of the server). Quite a few involve fighting or shooting down planes/etc, however many do not. The setting might be a pizza parlor or other business where the players take on certain roles such as making the pizza in the virtual world, serve customers, drive to a location to deliver them, etc. Or they can build their own house and furnish it, get room-mates, go to work, etc. My 13-year old loves the games where they simulate flying planes. So there are a good number of options there, though you need to monitor game selection. The server does screen language, as I recall, and the kids are told to report anyone asking for personal information.

I personally am really fine with the kids interacting with other players in the online environment. It can supplement their face-to-face friendships and it provides a low-risk place for learning about social interactions. Sometimes another player behaves like a jerk or my kid indulges in less-kind behavior, and the kid can learn about the consequences of those actions in a way which doesn't affect their 'real life' status.

Anyway, good luck with it!

neopets.com - lots of games - I like to play some of them.

Zoo tycoon my son loved it. They build their own zoo. Animals, exhibits, guests, paths cages etc etc they have to make stands for people to buy things to make money to build etc. I think there is a circus one now also. The graphics in zoo tycoon 2 are a lot better than the first one my son is 21 now and still talks about it with my 11 year old grandson

Are you looking for traditional computer games, or apps for a smartphone/itouch?

On the computer, my kids like Stickman, which has puzzles to solve.

On their itouches, my kids like Hill Climb (racing game), Where's my water (help a crocodile earn water), lightbikes (like the old Tron racing game), Race Penguins (racing games with a penguin).

Look into Animal Jam. Players communicate with other kids, but it's highly monitored. Kids can't use real names and no bad language is allowed (it will block it from even appearing on the screen). It looks extremely boring to me, but both of our kids were really into it for a time. I think it's run by National Geographic.

Usually we look at the label on the game cover, it informs you just about the appropriate user age. In my opinion some label for children are not really right so I prefer games with label for any age and I just monitor kids playing new games.

There are several. I didn't notice your son's age.

These are all pretty mind numbing, but options:
My Little Dentist.
Dog Groomer (most commercial items have this from disney princess to american girl).
Burger Maker games

Crossy Road is similar to Frogger. The player will get hit by a car, so a bit violent, but less or equal to pigs getting killed in Anger Birds.

abcya.com, starfall.com, gamegoo.com, pbskids.org. and leapfrog learning
all have games that my 5 yr old loves to play. and are educational rather than violent. abcya goes to 5th grade levels. pbs kids goes to about 10 before its too easy for them. so yopu can check them out and play if you want. or decide your child is a sklill level above the sites listed and try tetris like games online.