What games can kids play on the Switch that are fun and safe?
- maj
- 29
If you love video games, chances are you want your kid to love them too. Fortunately, the Nintendo Switch may be the most family-friendly console out there. It has a wealth of kid-friendly games that you can hand off to children old enough to operate controllers safely without worrying about what they might get into, so long as you pick the right games for them. If your kids are old enough to manipulate a controller safely and understand how to operate the Switch, the following games will be fun and safe for them:
★ Featured favorite
Pokémon Quest
Pokémon Quest's biggest perk is its price: it's free! You can download it onto the Switch and let your kid enjoy exploring a blocky world full of Pokémon friends. Though the Pokémon do "battle" one another, there's nothing violent about it, and it's a great way to introduce young kids to the world of Pokémon in a simple, repetitive, easy-to-understand manner. An Auto mode is beneficial for those kids who are still a bit young to use more complex controls and just want to feel like they're doing something. And there are no online interactions that will harm their gaming experience. Make sure you're using Switch Parental Controls, though, as the game does include microtransactions, you don't want your kid to trigger accidentally.
Cutting Through the Clutter
Snipperclips: Cut It Out, Together!
Snipperclips is a cute puzzle game that requires you to cut paper shapes into new shapes to accomplish certain tasks, such as fitting within a specific size space or performing a task related to movement and positioning. The game can be played alone or with up to four total people, which makes it a great game to let your kid enjoy and then join them for later on. Though some of the puzzles, later on, might get a bit tricky for very young kids, most will be able to follow what the game wants from them and enjoy finding new ways to snip and clip the paper friends into the right shapes. Plus, Snipperclips is a great game to work on problem-solving skills with your kids!
Drive Into The Sunset
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
So many adults have fond memories of bonding with siblings over Mario Kart...though that bonding often took the form of a lot of yelling about spiny shells! You don't need to own a retro console to give that same experience to your kids. Motion steering can be an improved way for younger children to try and drive the karts, and a special steering assist mode can help those who still haven't mastered the controls yet stay on the road with the more experienced players. Plus, though Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has an online mode unless you set them up with the voice chat app, all the interactions are limited to a set of friendly phrases, so there's no chance they'll run into bad content online.
Catch Em All For Free
Pokémon Quest
Pokémon Quest's biggest perk is its price: it's free! You can download it onto the Switch and let your kid enjoy exploring a blocky world full of Pokémon friends. Though the Pokémon do "battle" one another, there's nothing violent about it, and it's a great way to introduce young kids to the world of Pokémon in a simple, repetitive, easy-to-understand manner. An Auto mode is beneficial for those kids who are still a bit young to use more complex controls and just want to feel like they're doing something. And there are no online interactions that will harm their gaming experience. Make sure you're using Switch Parental Controls, though, as the game does include microtransactions you don't want your kid to trigger accidentally.
Call It A Draw
Crayola Scoot
Crayola Scoot can be a bit of a drag if you were looking for a more complex, colorful take on something like a Tony Hawk game, but for its intended kid audience, it's perfect. Players can scooter around various tracks and challenges while spraying different Crayola colors of paint on the ground, perform tricks, and customize characters with gear they win by improving their scooting more and more. With limited sets of challenges, clear goals, lots of customizability, and an extremely kid-friendly set of characters and objectives, Crayola Scoot is a perfect way to introduce young kids to skating games in a low-pressure environment.
Save Or Destroy Metropolis
Lego DC Super Villains
If you're looking for a solid game for a young kid, any Lego game will probably do the trick. Even the games based on darker properties, such as the Marvel Universe, are transformed into kid-friendly and fun adventures when Lego gets its hands on the game. Lego DC Super Villains is the most recent of these creations, so it's likely the one your kid is eyeballing and the one with the most updated mechanics and content. Players create a custom supervillain and join other famous Marvel faces on an adventure throughout Metropolis. They'll gain new skills, build new Lego creation, and may end up accidentally saving the city!
Ready For Adventure!
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Captain Toad is a charming, sweet, and challenging puzzle game for every age, and young children can enjoy it too. Captain Toad explores clever 3D diorama-like levels, walking around while the player rotates the camera and tries to guide him to the goal, collecting gems and coins along the way. Part of Captain Toad's charm is that it's very easy to reach the end of each level, but challenging to find all the collectibles, so it appeals to a wide range of ages and skillsets. It's also a great game to play with your child by using the co-op mode to point out hidden areas and help guide them through levels!
A good first Pokémon adventure
Pokémon Let's Go! Pikachu and Eevee
If you have a young child who likes Pokémon Quest or Pokémon Go and wants to get into the main series of games, Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee is a great place to start. These games focus more heavily on catching Pokémon with systems similar to those found in Pokémon Go, makes use of the Joy-Con motion controls for throwing Poke Balls, and has much more forgiving battles and EXP systems. You can also enjoy the game yourself as an adult while having a kid join in as your player 2! You'll have control over where you go and what you do, but kids can help battle and capture Pokémon and put together their own team of monster friends.
Arts, adventures, and crafts
Yoshi's Crafted World
You play as a soft, felt Yoshi in a crafted kingdom, working your way through levels, finding collectibles, and dressing up in adorable cardboard costumes to avoid getting hurt by enemies. In addition to the ease with which you can avoid taking hits, you can also turn the game on Mellow Mode at any time to give Yoshi wings and show where hidden secrets are, so you don't have to worry about falling off cliffs or missing Smiley Flowers! And, like some of Nintendo's other platformers, a second player can join in at any time, allowing either two kids to play together or a parent to guide a child through the game easily.
Gaming not just for kids, but with kids
It's hard to go wrong with finding games for kids on the Nintendo Switch, as long as you pay attention to the ESRB ratings (E for Everyone, E10+ for Everyone ten and up, and so forth) and make sure that you keep an open dialogue with your children about what they are playing. Staying actively engaged with what interests them and asking them questions about what they play and how it makes them feel are vital to ensuring their gaming time is safe. It can also help to download the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls mobile app to monitor their gaming time better and ensure their online interactions are secure.
Depending on the age of the child, different games will be appropriate, but Pokémon Quest is a good start at most ages. It's free, cute, simple, and engaging over time, and is a good gateway to games like Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee later on. It's also worth taking a look at the differences between the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite if you haven't purchased the hardware yet, to see if the Lite version is more appropriate for your children.
Update May 2020 Added Yoshi's Crafted World and Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee to the list, as well as a conclusion with further recommendations.