The Best PC Games For Kids

It’s tough to choose appropriate video games for kids! There are so many options and not nearly enough time; you can hardly play every game for your child in advance to tell if it’s okay.

Thankfully, we’re here to help. Computer gaming offers the widest range of available games, and we’re here to tell you about a few of the ones that will be fun for the kids in your life.

Updated on January 04, 2025, by Sanyam Jain: As gaming gets more advanced and more people get themselves a PC, it’s also more common to have kids who want to play games on them. Thankfully, there are quite a few game choices available for them, including Infinity Nikki, a cozy open-world game.

Video Games For Kids Age 2-4+

Dorfromantik

Dorfromantik is an adorable puzzle game that tasks you with building up a little valley all by yourself. There are very few mechanics to master – you just turn the tile and click to place it!

The game has lots of modes for whatever the player feels like doing, but the basic settings will provide a little challenge while still being engaging enough to keep a child’s attention.

100 Hidden Frogs

There’s something undeniably irresistible about frogs – especially if you’re a kid. Maybe it’s the way they hop from place to place, just out of reach. Maybe it’s their goofy eyes, always looking up at you in something that seems like a cross between bewilderment and utter disinterest.

Whatever the case may be, we love frogs. If you or the child in your life does too, you should try out 100 Hidden Frogs! It’s an incredibly simple game that tasks you with picking out the frogs hidden in a black and white picture. Once they’ve been discovered, they light up a froggy green.

Minecraft

Are we even allowed to talk about computer games for kids without bringing up Minecraft? What began as a friendly, cozy, slightly challenging indie game has exploded into a billion-dollar franchise recognized all over the world!

We must admit that the popularity is justified. If you’re interested in introducing a child to video games, you can’t go wrong by starting with Minecraft, a survival adventure game that tasks you with doing anything you want in an open-world sandbox.

Video Games For Kids Age 5-7+

Lil Gator Game

Lil Gator Game is one of the cutest games we’ve ever seen. Seriously, look at that protagonist and tell us that you wouldn’t do anything he asked you to do.

You play as that titular lil gator in a big, wide world with lots to do and explore! It’s basically a really simple open-world RPG.

Don’t worry, though: you don’t have to take it on alone! As the game devs put it: “The world is big when you’re a lil gator… Good thing it’s also full of friends!”

Kerbal Space Program

The Kerbal Space Program asks you to help a little alien species (the Kerbals) build their spaceship! The realistic physics engine determines whether or not you get off the ground.

Like some of the others on this list, there are a few different modes for the game to tailor it to anyone. If the kid in your life isn’t a fan of the basic story mode, you can always use the creative-style mode and just build the coolest rockets you can!

Doggone Hungry

Does the child in your life know a dog that they love? Maybe they really want to have a dog, but just can’t! Or, they might just want to know what it would be like to walk a mile in their little buddy’s paws. Enter: Doggone Hungry!

This free indie game lets you see the world through a dog’s eyes. Your goal is to get fat enough to rescue your favorite toy, a stuffed duck! To do that, you run around the world stealing food, trying not to be caught, and playing minigames.

Overcooked! 2

Are you shopping for a kid who likes a challenge? If so, you’re bound to hit the jackpot with the Overcooked! games. They place the player in the role of a chef in a very chaotic and popular kitchen, trying to fulfill all of their orders. (Don’t ask us why anyone wants to buy a burger off the back of a moving truck.)

The games can be played solo or cooperatively – totally up to you whether you want to hear all the screaming that will ensue when anyone is playing together. Either way, you’re sure to have a blast!

Descenders

Descenders is a fast-paced and extreme downhill mountain biking simulator! Each hill is procedurally generated, so you’ll get a unique experience each time. As you go, try your best to pull off tricks and complete challenges.

You can live out your crazy dreams heading down the slopes alone or with friends. It’s available on a wide variety of platforms, from macOS and Windows to the modern consoles to your Android or iOS mobile device.

Video Games For Kids Age 8-9+

Portal 2

Don’t be deceived by the numeral in the name; you don’t need to have played Portal to enjoy Portal 2. Like its predecessor, this is a puzzle game where you use a special gun to fire Portals that transport you across vast distances in the blink of an eye.

While you’re solving these mind-pending test chambers, you’ll also need to put up with the robot who oversees everything, GLaDOS. Her dry sense of humor (alongside a few other characters’ who are introduced in this game) is part of the reason Portal 2 is so beloved.

Slime Rancher

There’s no joy quite like watching the slimes from Slime Rancher bounce about, not a care in the world! Of course, they’re only moments away from being sucked into your vacuum gun (or “vacpack”), but they don’t need to know that.

In Slime Rancher, you spend your time collecting and caring for the titular slimes! They are kept in corrals that use energy fields to keep them in place. The more slimes you have, the more “plorts” you’ll get. The more plorts you have, the more money you’ll earn. The more money you have, the larger you can make your ranch!

Potion Craft

In Potion Craft, you play as an alchemist who has just opened their very own shop! By purchasing herbs and other ingredients from local vendors, you slowly build up a recipe book full of potions to cure ails, allow people to fly, send them into a deep slumber, and much more.

Potion Craft started out life as an early-access indie game, but received its official launch in December 2022. Still, it often receives free updates that add to the game experience! The game mechanics are pretty simple to understand once you get the hang of them and there’s no timer to add pressure or stress, so younger kids shouldn’t have a problem playing after they’ve gotten a handle on the basics.

Castle Crashers

Castle Crashers is a goofy side-scrolling hack-and-slash game that’s been beloved and enjoyed for more than a decade! It was developed by The Behemoth, the same people who worked on Alien Hominid and Battleblock Theater. Their distinctive art style is incredibly imaginative and you’ll never get tired of looking at it!

Admittedly, Castle Crashers relies a lot on potty humor, making it more suitable for kids than adults. Adults can definitely still get a kick out of it, and everyone’s sense of humor is different, but it’s more likely to resonate with young people who are just discovering what the world of humor has to offer – and are still getting a kick out of fart jokes every time.

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a simulator game that puts you in the role of a farmer who has just moved to a small village and away from the big city. Your time is spent clearing your farm, growing plants, getting to know the locals, delving into the nearby abandoned mines, and much more.

This game may seem boring on the surface, but we promise that there’s more to it than meets the eye. Something about the monotony of harvesting and planting new crops, fishing for the seasonal catch, and having a chat with your friends every day is really refreshing.

Raft

Raft is a challenging PC game that tasks the player with surviving out in the ocean on, you guessed it, a raft! You’ll spend your time in this game building up resources to expand your raft and make you more self-sustaining.

Unfortunately, you have to deal with a many-toothed obstacle. As you travel from tiny island to tiny island, picking up spare junk along the way, you’ll find yourself under attack by the shark! It can break pieces off your raft or even kill you if you’re not equipped to deal with it.

Video Games For Kids Age 10-12+

The Sims 4

The Sims is a classic franchise that has had gamers all over the world enthralled for generations. The Sims 4 is the recent installment; it came out in 2014. If it seems strange that a game almost a decade old is still beloved to this day, we don’t blame you! But the sandbox basis is as simple as it is brilliant: you create characters (Sims) who grow up, form relationships, go to work, live in houses you make for them, and more!

However, the team behind the game has been diligent in providing updates and numerous expansion packs to broaden the original material. Recently, The Sims 4 was even made free to play! The team is funded by purchases of those expansion packs, which they are still developing.

Infinity Nikki

As a kid, one of the most common games you might’ve played are dress-up related. If you’re fond of those games, Infinity Nikki is just the one for you. In this game, you play as Nikki who is given a task to save the world, but you have to do this by locating various dresses and using their abilities.

However, there are many more outfits to get apart from the ability ones, and you can get a lot of these for free simply by progressing the game. It also has platforming and exploration aspects, which keep you hooked for a long time.

Dave The Diver

Dave the Diver is a wonderfully imaginative early access game that places the player in the role of an underwater explorer! During the day, you’ll venture beneath the waves, catching rare and exotic fish and, frankly, just enjoying the view. At night, you use your catches to run a sushi restaurant and please your customers.

In his review for TheGamer, Ryan Bamsey praised the game’s gorgeous art style and the adrenaline rush he received from the perilous trips into the ocean’s depths. You have to balance your oxygen with your activities down there, so you really have to prioritize – and, sometimes, make that critical decision about whether to do one more thing or go up for air.

Storyteller

Storyteller is a simple game that casts the player as the titular Storyteller, creating comic panels from a selection of characters and scenes. The challenge is to put these story elements in the right order to fulfill specific prompts.

Storyteller comes from Annapurna Interactive, the team behind popular games like Stray, Outer Wilds, and What Remains Of Edith Finch. This is a particularly short experience, though; you can finish the base game in just 2 hours. However, as of September 2023, an update has added significant content to the game with more puzzling prompts to challenge your story skills.

Stellaris

Stellaris is a management game, meaning it’s a love-it-or-hate-it experience. People who love it, though, just can’t get enough. Basically, imagine if the Civilization games had you managing an entire cluster of star systems in the galaxy, not just one measly government on Earth.

Whether you make friends with the other galactic empires or conquer them is up to you, but it’s all building up to one thing: the end-game crisis. How well you handle it will depend on how formidable, dangerous, and defendable you’ve made your empire.

Our Life: Beginnings & Always

Our Life: Beginnings & Always is a visual novel game. That means that the player just chooses dialogue options as the story goes on in front of them. You’re put in the role of a local from the town of Sunset Bird, having just met the boy who moved in down the street: Cove.

As you and Cove grow up together, you’ll be faced with all the trials and tribulations of life. Cove can become a childhood crush, a lifelong partner, an old best friend, or simply an acquaintance, all depending on your choices. The way Cove grows up – along with other characters in the story – will depend on you, too.

Terraria

Terraria was compared a lot to Minecraft at the height of its popularity. After all, they’re both sandbox survival games with blocks that make up their worlds and lots of creative options. However, they also have their fair share of differences. Terraria is 2D, for example, has NPCs you can actually talk to, and it’s much more focused on defeating a series of progressively more difficult bosses.

If the kid in your life enjoys Minecraft but is looking for a change, this might be the game for them. If not, it still might be the game for them – Terraria has a lot to offer.

Sea Of Thieves

Lots of kids long to be pirates one day. Thanks to Sea of Thieves, they can really live out their dreams! This Xbox exclusive is something you won’t ever want to put down, once you get a taste of the open sea and your own ship under your feet.

You’ll do all the best pirate things: raid ancient fortresses for loot, fight skeletons, collect bounties, and even raid other pirates’ ships! After all, other people can play in the same game as you, so you’ll need to be wary about where you sail.

Psychonauts

Psychonauts is a cult classic game that first came out for the original Xbox. With a version easily available on PC, though, and a second game finally released, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be introducing it to the next generations.

Psychonauts is about a young boy named Raz who runs away from his family circus to attend a training camp for child psychics. Hijinks ensue when he figures out that the other children seem to be losing their minds… literally!