Hi,

I'm looking for suggestions for games that would be okay for kids to play in school (ages 9-12). It seems like even many of the educational games have content that could be considered inappropriate, and I don't want to inadvertently get the site banned.

Thanks in advance!

I think "into the dragons den" would be great!! Just don't pick the brown chest!

LOL, if I tell them "don't pick the brown chest" every kid will do it at once...

Do they need to be from this site?

With text adventures it's almost impossible to know everything that's in them unless you're the author. That being said, here are some for you to check out...

Untold Riches is about a teenager who's stranded on a tropical Island and looking for rescue and treasure. It was actually written for use in a classroom.
Legend of the Missing Hat is a very short game about tiny ninjas.
Mite is a fairy garden adventure. Involves slaying a (large-compared-to-you) spider.
Lost Pig is funny and one of the most popular IF games around. (It's possible for you (you play an orc) to take your pants off and set them on fire. I don't know everything possible. It seems to allow lots of silly things.)
The Island of Dr. Wooby is about felt dinosaurs.

I'm always looking for a challenge... And a reason to procrastinate finishing X3. Offer up a topic you'd like a kid friendly game to be about and I'll be glad to make one. Also indicate whether if it'd be better to make a gamebook or text adventure! Hope to hear for you!

Thanks for the suggestions! If you would like to make one feel free -- any topic is great. I just don't want them exploring the site while we're making our own, stumbling across something inappropriate, and the next thing I know I'm not allowed to use Text Adventures anymore :/

missrithenay wrote:I just don't want them exploring the site while we're making our own, stumbling across something inappropriate, and the next thing I know I'm not allowed to use Text Adventures anymore :/

Hmmm. Is it possible for them to use the downloaded version of the software? Then they wouldn't have to use the site.

Alternatively, maybe this site could use a kid-friendly category.

A kid friendly category would be amazing.

I thought Alex had created something for teachers/classroom/students/minors, letting you block off the adult category games (though, people can still make games with adult content while giving it a non-adult category: the only way to tell if there's adult content or not, is to scour through the entire game code yourself of each person's game, unfortunately):

https://blog.textadventures.co.uk/2013/ ... activelit/
http://textadventures.co.uk/education/
http://activelit.com/help/resources
https://teachprimarycomputing.wordpress ... mes-intro/
https://teachprimarycomputing.wordpress ... ng-a-game/

(I just did a google search using: quest text adventure for teachers)

I believe that adult games will not be listed if you enter a birth date that is less than 18 years old on your profile page. Is that correct?

That is not a fix all because there are probably quite a few games out there with foul language but aren't categorized as adult.

Thanks for the links -- super helpful. You're right that the problem isn't them going into games labelled adult, but with potentially problematic content (especially with parents who may be sensitive to different topics) in games listed in other categories. I really do appreciate the help, everyone!

it's like with movies/tv shows-series: you got to watch each movie/tv show-episode

it's like with books (though parents rarely care/realize about a book's contents, laughs: they're, "oh reading is good", and not care what the content might be within the book... reading advanced/mature content books as a kid made me very smart, so it's a good thing my parents didn't know/realize just how mature/advanced the books were, laughs. Not that they could even ever understand such advanced concepts wihtin the books I've read, sighs. Few people can, sighs): you got to read every book, page by page, line by line.

for example, Michael Crighton's (can't spell his last name ever, grr) 'Sphere', for 99% of the book there's no sexual content, except for that 1%, the 1-2 scenes of it, laughs. Of course, I'm not getting into other content that might be an issue (violence, language, ethics/morality or lack of it, etc).

and movie ratings by other people (ordinary people or those in the industry)... total BS... you got to watch/rate them: *YOURSELF*

the only rating, for anything, that isn't total BS, is YOUR OWN.

I would actually disagree with that -- I think there are ways to get ratings (websites such as Common Sense Media, for example) that detail little things that may be potentially objectionable in movies, etc. I appreciate the others' recommendations and assistance!

I'd agree you really can't go wrong with Lost Pig, but it's true there don't seem to be a lot of kid's games out there, especially for that age range.

I think assumptions about their literacy levels and game preferences might be a factor...

If you haven't already you might try ifdb.tads.org and search for reverent tags. Plenty of authors are responsive to questions and feedback too.

Downloading the offline version of Quest was suggested, and I'd recommend it too.

When I get home to my computer I could try having a browse around. Is there any kind of THOU SHALL NOT list of specific guidelines or criteria you have to use for media to show the kids we should know about before making any more suggestions?

Really it needs to be G rated -- I'm teaching at a Catholic elementary school, so language, sexual content, really anything controversial is pretty much out.

Hello my boy started to play some adventure games i had and i cant find any more suitable ones for him.
Last one i found is http://store.steampowered.com/app/495350
Woodle Tree 2: Worlds

Just because he did play the first one and he did really enjoy it.
Is there a list of suitable adventure games like the classic old adventure games ..which can't even be found on steam now...

IFDB has some good lists users have put together. This might be a good place to start?

http://ifdb.tads.org/poll?id=z9shyw6mdia3jdud

And

http://ifdb.tads.org/poll?id=2uzhpidi059hpav3

Keep in mind the IFDB lists can be added to by anyone. I see some good places to start on those lists of XanMag's, but they should't be automatically assumed to be appropriate or G rated.

Bronze in particular, it may be based on a fairy tale but I absolutely wouldn't consider it a game for small children.

I agree with Marzipan.

I put a rating on my games for a reason, 17+.

It would be great to categorize by age appropriate. E.g., something along the lines of "E" for everyone, "E10+" for everyone 10 and up; "T" for teen, "M" for mature, etc., assuming those categories are not copyrighted. While people may have differing standards a benchmark of sort would help.

I happen to be working on a truly good-for-most-ages adventure without dark themes, illicit references or excessive violence, one parents could play with their children, or either age by themselves. Due for release hopefully soon! Mine does have a modest amount of action / violence (kill a threatening enemy in a not terribly gory way) so if there WERE such a posting system I'd probably rate 10+. My middle-school age niece happily agreed to be a tester!