My 8 yo DS is begging me to buy this download game for him. He is gifted and has learned about the game from classmates at his gifted school. He loves reading, math and video games, tho I limit the time he spends on the games in favor of many more typical 8 yo activities. Does anyone have any insite into this game or opinions on it. I am very picky about what kind of games I allow him to play, as I do want to foster a positive childhood for him. Thanks!!
T.:
My boys are 10 and 12 and have Minecraft.
My girlfriend, who is VERY picky about the games her boys play (7 and 11) have Minecraft.
My 7, 10 and 13 year olds play it. The only thing I see wrong with it is how addicted they are to the game. I think it's a lot like virtual Legos.
We play a lot of games I wouldn't recommend for most kids HOWEVER... I'd recommend Minecraft for a 4yo (and 40, and 80yo)!!!
Because it is literally played by 4yo-80yos.... IF you play public servers (you never have to).... You will run into the 12-22 crowd that is pushing boundaries. Trolls & Griefers (people trying to cause you grief) do come along and destroy what others have built. How do you avoid that? Easy
- Play offline (not on a server)
- Play on a private server
- Play on a scouting / church / school / invitation only server.
It's a phenom game, with ENDLESS possibilities. We've been playing it since the first Beta version, and it just keeps getting better, and better, and better. Notch, the creator, is an absolutely brilliant designer... And there are almost continual updates (free).
NOT RECOMMENDED BLANKET (I blanket recommend Minecraft, but strongly caution / PG) = YouTube 'Yogscast'. I let my then 8yo watch them, but there is a LOT of swearing (2 British guys), that have become almost synonymous with the game. They are HILARIOUS. My parents don't play Minecraft, but they DO watch Yogscast. They're the hands down BEST Minecraft play videos... But they're filmed for a slightly more mature crowd than most elementary kids. As I said, I'm FINE with my then 8yo (now 10yo) watching them... But unlike the game, Yogscast isn't appropriate for all children.
Have Fun!!!
(Ahem. Get at least 2 accts. trust me. You'll have a blast, as well.)
I came to dig dig dig dig!
And build a city that's so big big big big!
Wait a sec, lets ride this pig pig pig pig...
I shoot my arrows in the air sometimes
But no today-o
Oh Creepers K-O'd....
(There's a lot of geek-parody songs that are pure awesomeness).
Diggy Diggy Hole!
My kids LOVE it. LOVE. IT. They play it together and sing the song. There are creepers, but they aren't scary.... loads of fun for them. They laugh the whole time they are playing it.
Oh... my kids are 14 and 11, but from what I have seen, I would have let them play at 8, if they'd had laptops and ipods at that age.
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/minecraft
I found that on a website called Common Sense Media - it is very helpful for getting reviews of movies, games, etc. and determining if it is suitable for a child of a certain age.
Minecraft is an excellent game for tweens. Here is a parent review: http://safevideogames.blogspot.ca/2011/01/minecraft-revie...
My boys love it.
Look on Gamestop.
www.gamestop.com
It is rated for kids, as "E10" meaning for everyone, 10 and older.
Minecraft is fun. But see it for yourself.
And yes it is popular.
And I see no harm in it.
Parents and kids can play it together too.
ALSO go here: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/minecraft/us...
to check the reviews from parents, on Common Sense Media.
The "problem" with it or any game, is the child. Meaning, if they can self-regulate or not, per games and being able to stop or not.
We are a tech family. We have all kinds of platforms and games.
My kids play games. They are 6 and 9. BUT they do not play games every day nor all the time. Why? Because, we do have rules, but also because my kids can self-regulate. They are not attached to it. Or we all play together as a family, games which are suitable for them.
Lego games for example.
My 6, 8 and 11 year old all have it. It's really a harmless game and their is some 'science' to it. I can not see a reason why an 8 year old couldn't play it.
I've never played, but friends' 6 yr old son does and really enjoys it. They play together as a family.
I honestly don't know ANY kids who do not play it. I think they find the building houses and stuff to be amazingly fun. The zombie part of it is not something they all get interested in. My granddaughter just loves to build houses and decorate them. She gets really annoyed when her little brother opens her doors or windows to let zombies in.
I will caution you that if you go to youtube to watch the video's you will find that they are almost always questionable and not appropriate for kids. I found my phone one day and it was playing a black on white couple bumping uglies....it was labeled minecraft too. I can't imagine what the heck that was meant to be about the game...
Anyway. The game is pretty harmless, it's just a game. But the other stuff online, well, that's totally different.
This game is perfectly fine! There are a few points of zombies and such but they are not even scary. My 6 year old plays it. I am in agreement with one of the comments that you would need to monitor YouTube videos on it due to language. All I can say is there is so much creativity in the building of structures and the kids just love it. I do not allow my kids to play anything on the computer that is out of my eyesight and I have not seen anything that concerns me. They even have templates you can print out and build with paper, there are also different skins you can create for the characters that require following a lot of difficult direction. I think it is great for kids. Enjoy!
My daughter's school has a mine craft class as after school enrichment! I haven't played or seen it personally but I don't think our school would okay it if it was inappropriate!
This is an interesting article about Minecraft- I've fooled around with it, and I'm impressed.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwJnk6QRZ8Q
The packaging says it's for 10 year olds and up. It's simple enough, but has monsters at one point. It depends on your son's maturity level. Check out the above websites. Watch the you tube site in private, as it is Conan O'brien and he walks you through this game in a very adult, yet funny manner. You decide.
I totally agree with the others! My 8yo son is constantly building with legos, and whenever he isn't building with legos, he's building elaborate creations on Minecraft. He and my 14yo son have both played Minecraft for years. They love it!
My kids are currently 10 and 12 and have been playing Minecraft for over a year. They both have several school friends that play as well. My younger had a Creeper birthday cake this year.
The one downside is that your hard work can be destroyed by others. People that intentionally ruin things and/or steal are called griefers. They are allowed in some servers and not in others.
That can be rough on some kids. My younger child had created a home with a friend and they had a pet cow. Someone came in and killed it. The boys were so sad, and built a little memorial. The same griefer came in and destroyed that too.
Our 8 year old son has it and loves building and creating with it. To me it seems kind of like playing with legos on a video screen. He just spent a long time making a "grocery store" for his villagers. He likes playing in "create" mode and not "survival" mode and that way there are no zombies/monsters. I will warn you to set limits on it though bc for our son it is addictive! We have it set on a timer and he gets an hour 3 days a week. The computer automatically shuts it off when his time is over.
Yup, my kids love this game, too :)
