By accident, my son has been interested in online games, MMOs and the like. Unsuprisingly, the market for the under-12 MMOs seems to have boomed. These are just a few of the ones aimed at pre-teen and younger kids. [I'm ignoring the toy-based sites like webkinz and neopets and some of the Asian MMOs, like Maplestory.]
Mini-match–This is the first one he got into, by virtue of creating his own platform games on the Ben 10 Alien Force site. It’s not really an MMO, but there are avatars. You can chat and emote, but the core of the experience lies in challenging other players and winning games for credits, which you can use to purchase stuff for your character, including emotes and clothes. It’s a browser-based game that is run by cartoon networks. It’s still in beta, and it shows at times with the lagging performance at times. As a parent, you can also also link your child’s account to yours and monitor their activities.
wizard101–This is still in beta, but it’s actually a neat little MMO that has quests but is focused on just mages. It’s like playing a card battle, so it’s familiar to kids. We just started this one, but it runs well, and it’s an installed game.
toontown–This Disney browser-based game is probably one of the best known virtual worlds for kids. It has a free version, but the membership version is $10 a month and gives you access to all of the games as well as other things. We’ve tried it before, and my kids were bored with it. [In general, they have found Disney's sites frustrating and slow.]
Powerup–This seems for a little older kids, but it’s an online game that involves saving a world from environmental disasters. It’s an installed game and seems to fall into the category of edutainment. It looks interesting, but my son has no interest in it.
Club Penguin–Another Disney browser-based game, this is another that is really a place for kids to play games with each other. You can emote, chat and interact with other gamers. Like toontown, it has a free version and a membership, but the free version seems to be pretty good.
Hello Kitty–This game requires a game client, and it might oddly enough be the most interesting of these games. It’s still in beta, but from the descriptions, it is more of virtual world than just a departure for playing minigames. It is a persistant world with quests, housings, crafting, farming. Yes, it has combat, but there is more to the game.
Kiwi Heroes–This is another installed virtual world that is in beta. We’ve not been accepted so it’s hard to tell much about it.
10 comments ↓
Very good indeed!
oh man i need good ones ones that are for kids and teens
i want in the style of runescape or fiesta i love runescape
i really got sucked into it so now im looking for a new one
wowc is the best but its a BIG rip off
Have you tried Free Realms?
My kids [7 and 10] really enjoy FusionFall, although they’re not MMO gamers really. [They played Wizard 101 for a while, but got tired of it. I think FusionFall has more depth from what I've seen.]
Have You Tried Smallworlds
Smallworlds is an MMO for people 10 or up, The things you can do in it is:
1. Make Friends
2. Adopt or make pets
3. Find that special someone
4. Play Arcade Games
5. Draw
6. Customize your Home
You should definitely check out http://www.secretbuilders.com
My kids absolutely love it! I have 9 year old son and a 10 year old daughter. Both are always fighting to get on! Secretbuilders has a LOT to offer both of them. Spells, games, dress up, tree house, clubs, quests, an online magazine, and so much more.
I’m 10. I hate hello kittie, wizard101 is ok, I used to like toontown, and you forgot a really awsome one. http://www.roblox.com/ . It’s an online world where you can build your own games, invite friends, and play other peoples games. I suggest that you make a parent account, though. You’d better watch your child because some people are VERY mean… and teens started going on and swearing and making bloody games and stuff. If anyone does that, tell your child to report them. I hope I helped!
well smallworlds is actually for people 13+.
It has rose from a beta to an awesome day played by
thousands Daily!
Both of my kids are fans of FusionFall, but roblox looks great! Thanks for the tips on that site . . . my son is now 10, and I think he’d like it.
secret builders looks nice and i think roblox is a partially nice game, consider that it’s supposed to be a safe community but there are some meanies out there. small worlds is not good for 10 year olds its 14! or 13!
free realms is a good game, and im 12 and i started being a fan of free realms when i was 8 . but, anyway, i wouldnt let my child under 13 type there talk !
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