5 Essentials in a Virtual Pet Game for Kids

Your child is interested in owning a virtual pet, and you’re wondering which game to introduce him to. Out of the hundreds of virtual pet games out there, it isn’t easy to predict which ones he is more likely to enjoy. However, you can certainly make an educated guess based on the popularity of the pet games available online.

“Healthy Foods” by Kevin Jarrett is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Of course preferences vary from one child to the next, but there are certain features that most kids seem to enjoy in an online pet game. Here they are, listed in no particular order.

A virtual world

It’s all very well to feed your virtual pet and play a couple of games with it for an hour or two, but after that things get repetitive. On the other hand, kids find great pleasure in exploring a whole new virtual world with their online pets. In some games, the virtual world mirrors the real world. Pets run around in parks and visit restaurants or splash in water. In other games, the virtual world is an imaginative one with places that you would never be able to visit in real life. You may be able to explore arctic islands, visit lands from the past or journey to the center of the earth with your virtual pets. Either way, these virtual worlds add a great deal of fun and adventure to the pet games. While most popular pet games have 3D virtual worlds that you can walk through, Neopets was one virtual pet game that did extremely well in spite of only having a 2D version of their virtual world.

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      Exotic pets

If your child could choose between a pet dog and a pet dragon, which do you think he would choose? For many kids, part of the excitement in owning a virtual pet comes from the range of options available to choose from. Without worrying about the amount of space available at home, the kind of food the pet would require or the kind of care the pet needs, kids can opt to adopt dolphins, tigers, griffins, dragons and even monsters. Some games take the action one step further by allowing players to ride on the backs of their winged pets.

      A creative outlet

Everyone has an innate desire to create something of their own. Many times, all one needs is the right opportunity. Virtual pet games that offer such an outlet are a big hit with kids. Kids delight in customizing their virtual homes, adding rooms and furniture as they deem fit. By allowing players to visit each other’s homes and putting well-designed homes in the spotlight, many virtual pet games encourage kids to think big and get creative with their virtual homes. However, not everyone is good at interior decoration. For kids who would rather write a story, create cartoons or design webpages, there are pet games that encourage these creations as well. Typically, the creations revolve around the theme and characters of the pet game, and are viewed by fellow players.

“A neopets faerie” by L. Whittaker is licensed under CC BY 2.0

            

      Mini games and quests

No matter how extensive the virtual worlds are, there’s bound to come a time when you’ve explored it all. You’ve visited every nook and corner and you know the lands inside out. What do you do next? Kids love it when there are mini games inside the virtual pet game. Rather than offering generic mini games that kids can just as well play on a gaming website, the good virtual pet games have mini games that tie in with the theme and characters of the larger world. The points earned in these games contribute to the in-game currency and allow kids to buy more items for their pets. The greater the number and variety of mini-games available, the happier your child is likely to be. Kids also love solving quests, and greatly appreciate it when they are available in a pet game.

      A strong community of fellow players

When you have a virtual pet game that you are really excited about, you would naturally want someone to share that excitement with. Many pet games allow players to do this by letting them socialize with each other on the website. Through multiplayer games, chat options, user profiles and forums, players can get to know each other and form good friends online. (If you are considering a pet game with social networking options, make sure the website has safety controls in place and that your child is aware of the best practices in socializing on the internet.) Such a community, bound by common interests, is often close-knit and contributes to the players’ love for the game.

Talk to your child and discuss which of these features are important to him. You can also find out what he expects from each feature. Based on his responses, you can find a virtual pet game that is most suited to his unique tastes and preferences.

5 Best Learning Games from 2014

2014 saw a plethora of learning games taking the educational gaming market by storm. From online learning games  to board games, the variety available is already impressive, with many new additions being made to this list. While some fizzled out, the others managed to stay on and make a long-lasting impression on parents’ and children’s minds. Here are our 5 favorite learning games for kids from the year gone by.

Small World (ages 10 – 14)

This is a learning game for kids with cards. 2-5 players can play this game at a time, all of whom will vie for control of the board, which is the ulterior motive. Simultaneously, players must pick the right combination of fantasy races and unique superpowers to expand empires and defeat neighbors at the expansion. Live with dwarves, wizards, amazons, giants, and orcs and go on conquering lands and territories.

Aristotle Number Puzzle (ages 7 – 15)

Image Credit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085JRADS

Raise the little Aristotle in your child with this learning game! Finished with an antique touch to give the puzzle an aged look, it is inspired by the great Greek philosopher Aristotle. The hexagonal wood puzzle has tiles numbered from 1-19. The challenge is to arrange the tiles, whether 3, 4, or 5 in each row, in such a way that each row adds up to 38. There are 15 rows to complete, each row made up of 3, 4 or 5 tiles.

Gravity Maze (ages 8 – 15)

Image Credit: http://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-1006-Gravity-Maze/dp/B00IUAAK2A

If you’re looking to sharpen your reasoning skills and visual perception, then this is the learning game for kids from 2014, which will be an absolute fun exercise for your brain. The challenge is to build a path with visually stimulating gravity cubes and create a path for a marble to reach its target successfully. There are 60 levels of the challenge, ranging in difficulty, which will give you plenty of exercise to plan the creative mazes in your head!

Pyramix – The Three Sided Strategy Game (ages 8+)

Image Credit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JRGG3ZE

This is a strategy game for kids where they need to pull apart the pyramid by taking turns to move one cube at a time from the stack without toppling it. As the cubes are taken out, the others will slide down to the base. Every move has to be planned carefully as the bottom-most cubes are worth the big points. Watch out for cobras that may come and eat into your score.

Robot Turtles (ages 4+)

The learning game provides crucial brain development and computer programming skills to kids aged 4 and upward. Kids will have to dictate the movements of their Robot Turtles on the game board by playing code cards that say forward, left and right. The player will win if the Robot Turtle successfully reaches the end point. Bug cards can be used to undo a move but for a limited number of times. The game continues till all the players have reached the end point which means every one is a winner!