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Family game night is an excellent opportunity for family bonding. There isn't a more suitable platform for kid and family games than the Nintendo Switch. The console's target audience is people of all ages. Kids and families will relish these Switch games because of their inclusiveness and replayability.
According to idtech.com, "The main study, conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Charité University Medicine St. Hedwig-Krankenhaus in Berlin, Germany, found that playing video increases grey matter (basically, the size of your brain)." There you have it! Playing video games is a healthy activity.
Updated February 6, 2023, by Gabrielle Huston: Searching for the best game to buy for the kid(s) in your life? Here, we're detailing some of your very best options! This article has been updated with a few extra suggestions and has organized the games by age for easy browsing.
Video Games For Kids Age 2-4+
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
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ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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Although initially released for the Wii U, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a comprehensive package including all of the DLC and base content of the highly-acclaimed Mario Kart 8. Being able to play 4-player split-screen races is a reason to buy Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as soon as possible.
For a family-fun game, there aren't many choices more suitable than this! Catch-up through better item rolls ensures less skilled players have a fighting chance at races, and the game's numerous maps and Battle mode makes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe a long-lasting game.
Dorfromantik
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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Dorfromantik is an adorable indie game from Toukana Interactive. It's a city-building puzzle game where you're tasked with placing hexagonal tiles to build an ever-expanding map.
If you've ever played the board game Carcassonne, Dorfromantik will feel really familiar! In the normal mode, you'll build for as long as you can keep earning new pieces by scoring high points. There are a few others to explore, such as creative mode where you can place just about any tile you please, and a monthly mode where everyone competes for the highest score with the same collection of tiles.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you play as the only human on an island full of anthropomorphic animals! It's your job to make friends, catch bugs and fish, and decorate the environment to make it a fun place to live.
This casual game is designed with kid players in mind - there's no easily accessible settings menu so that they can't delete their save files on accident or anything like that. Parents tend to appreciate this game for its educational value, too; there are lots of simple sentences to practice reading and, anytime you bring a new fish or bug to your island's museum, you get to hear a little about it from the museum curator!
New Pokemon Snap
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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New Pokemon Snap is a simple and clean improvement on a previous game. In it, the player floats along a predetermined course and takes pictures of the Pokemon they spot in the wild as they go past.
It's a great choice for parents who want to introduce their children to Pokemon before they're old enough to play the mainline games. There's enough completionist stuff that the game is still great for adults, but kids will have a blast just snapping pictures of these fantastical animals.
Video Games For Kids Age 5-7+
Mario Party: Superstars
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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There may not be a more ideal game for families to play. As a game that offers 4-player split-screen, Mario Party: Superstars is explosive fun till the end. Instead of playing Scrabble or Settlers of Catan for family board game night, try Mario Party: Superstars.
It's a jovial board video game that is packed full of delightful mini-games fit for the whole family. Mini-games can be repetitive at times, and not every mini-game is enjoyable, yet there are few better local-multiplayer options on the Nintendo Switch than Mario Party: Superstars.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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What would you do if your favorite artist suddenly disappeared one day? Well, in this game, the dog artist protagonist travels across the Picnic Province to find her!
While you take time to search for the titular artist, Chicory, you'll spend time in this game exploring, making friends, and painting on anything you can find!
Rocket League
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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A popular Esports game is a highly enjoyable vehicular soccer game suitable for the whole family. Rocket League supports both online and local multiplayer and provides outstanding value for its price. Perhaps all that time playing Rocket League could lead to a career in Esports.
Rocket League is unique and is a widely popular vehicular soccer game that pits teams in matches of 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3. The amount of replayability for Rocket League is seemingly endless. You won't regret picking up Rocket League today!
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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This fighting game is the most recent entry into a long-beloved franchise wherein various Nintendo characters battle one another with their unique abilities. That means that every kid's favourite Nintendo game is bound to be featured here! Characters from Animal Crossing, Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Splatoon, Metroid, Pokemon, and more are available in the roster.
Though it's a fighting game and there's some mischief, there's no blood at all. There's not even a health bar; characters just get more and more vulnearble, represented by the percentage next to their name, making them easier to throw off the map (which is the objective).
Overcooked! All You Can Eat
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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In the Overcooked games, players control chefs in a chaotic and fantastical kitchen. This is no ordinary kitchen, though! Players must navigate kitchens on boats, on moving cars, in the jungle, and more!
It develops fantastic teamwork skills with whoever you choose to work with to beat the game and keeps you on your toes throughout. The dishes vary with different ingredients and styles, too, so you can't just develop the muscle memory to get it right every time.
Video Games For Kids Age 8-9+
Tetris 99
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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There is a reason why Tetris is regarded as the highest-selling game of all time. Tetris 99 has stood the test of time and continues to grow in sales. It is exceedingly fun and challenging. Tetris can be played by people of all ages. There aren't a lot of requirements for Tetris 99, only your concentration and sleight of hand.
This addictingly fun tile-matching puzzle game was invented by a Soviet Russian game designer named Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov. Tetris 99 is a free-to-play game that makes up to 99 online players face-off in a game of Tetris.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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A new mainline installment in the Kirby series came out in early 2022, called Kirby and the Forgotten Land. It's the first of those to be in full 3D! This platforming game asks Kirby to navigate unique stages where he'll absorb creatures to gain their abilities. He can even use "Mouthful Mode" to control big things, like cars!
If you want to play with your family, Kirby and the Forgotten Land includes local (though not online) multiplayer. Two people can play at a time, with the second player controlling Bandana Waddle Dee.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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Does the image remind you of a Studio Ghibli movie? It should! The animated cutscenes were produced by them! In Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch you play as a young boy, Oliver, who is trying to bring his dead mother back to live.
The gameplay is that of an action RPG. You'll spend your time enjoying the story and traveling throughout a fantastical world, taming "familiars" as you go who will fight on your behalf.
Monopoly For Nintendo Switch
ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
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It's a nostalgic Monopoly game at its best. With lots of detail and less cleanup required, Monopoly for Nintendo Switch is as good as Monopoly gets.
Although Monopoly is an enjoyable pastime board game, adding different themed boards such a Nintendo, The Simpsons, Game of Thrones, or the Avengers could have made Monopoly for Nintendo Switch stand out from other Monopoly games. Monopoly for Nintendo Switch squanders its potential by not taking chances.
Still, with online support, Monopoly for Nintendo Switch could provide hours of fun.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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If you're raising your child to be nerdy in other ways, as well as introducing them to video games, you may be showing them the Star Wars movies! Then what better way to hook them on a video game than the LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga?
It got great reviews, and it includes the new movies, the old movies, and even some content from the television shows and more! There's no collection of Star Wars content quite like this one, particularly because it's not afraid to laugh at itself!
Super Mario Odyssey
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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Super Mario Odyssey is widely considered to be the best Mario game to be released in years - and for good reason! This 3D platformer is an excellent evolution of the franchise that checks every box you can think of and more.
The puzzles are tough enough to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, but not so tough that you'll be dealing with a wailing child after letting them play it for an hour or two. Plus, the levels are all varied and open to explore, including thick forests, open desert plains, and metropolitan cities!
Video Games For Kids Age 10-12+
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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We can hardly talk about the best Nintendo Switch games in any capacity without mentioning Breath of the Wild. It revolutionized open-world gaming and no other title has beaten it out ever since.
In this installment of the Legend of Zelda, you play as Link, adventuring around every corner of Hyrule. Puzzles come in the form of Shrines and Divine Beasts, combat can occur with various fantastical opponents, and the inspiring physics of the game mean that your torch goes out when it rains, lighting some grass on fire creates an updraft, and much, much more.
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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As the second-highest (possibly the highest) selling game of all time, Minecraft is the ideal video game for children and families. It's a game that offers 4-player split-screen and furthermore, players can be added to a world online.
Some consider Minecraft to be the most popular game of all time, but when dealing with numbers in the hundreds of millions, there can be differences in estimates. Regardless of its sales, Minecraft is an enjoyable game that has content beyond simply building creations. It is a survival game that never fails to surprise. You don't have to be an expert builder, just someone with a positive attitude to enjoy Minecraft.
Portal Companion Collection
Portal ESRB Rating | T for Teen |
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Portal 2 ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
Portal Companion Collection Recommended Age | 12 |
The Portal Companion Collection includes the first Portal and Portal 2, which are excellent puzzle games from Valve. In them, you control a Portal gun that allows you to instantly transport yourself (among other things) across vast distances in the blink of an eye.
The puzzles revolve around you using this Portal gun to get out of sticky situations and discover the mysterious truth behind events at the scientific testing facility where you're staying. These games combine everything you could want: engaging gameplay, witty humor, edge-of-your-seat mystery, a true challenge, and an excellent soundtrack!
The Jackbox Party Pack 4
ESRB Rating | T for Teen |
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In the mood for a trivia game? The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is that and so much more. Containing a wonderful selection of whimsical games, The Jackbox Party Pack 4 can support up to 16 players, but the majority of the games in the collection support up to 8 players.
Being able to play online with friends and family from across the world makes The Jackbox Party Pack 4 an exceptional party game. So, what are you waiting for? Pick up your copy of The Jackbox Party Pack 4!
Kirby Star Allies
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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We love Kirby Star Allies because it's 4-player. Games like Kirby Star Allies are meant to be played with friends and family. The difficulty level of this game is average, which is why it can be played by just about anyone.
As a 2.5D game, Kirby Star Allies is one of the highest-selling games on Nintendo Switch. Although it can be played single-player, the game is easier and funner through co-op multiplayer. Defeating Kirby's foes such as Meta Knight and King Dende is a blast in Kirby Star Allies.
ARMS
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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As one of the few games developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch, Arms is enjoyment that is suitable for the whole family. The ability to intuitively use motion controls makes Arms excel as a fighting game.
Arms is a Nintendo Switch game that supports online multiplayer. Think of Arms as like a boxing game if the ring was bigger and each fighter had an extended reach. With a variety of controls including dash, grab, and left and right punch, Arms is beyond boxing.
Windbound
ESRB Rating | E10+ for Everyone 10 and up |
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Another excellent action RPG from an indie developer is Windbound! This one takes place on deep blue seas. Once you've been stranded on an island, you have to survive with your wits, a pinch of good luck, and some excellent resource management.
You control Kara, a warrior separated from her tribe. There's no one to help you, so you navigate the Forbidden Islands all on your own. There's a mysterious secret to be uncovered, if you look carefully enough.