Sharing games with kids

[evenwolf]

It's been a good long while since I made a thoughtful adventure game related post.

But I was just remembering this past summer when I let my boss's 7 year old son help me with the King's Quest remake.  He loved it, he's such a smart kid.  He would tell me "try the feather with the snake!" really excitedly and got really really excited when we figured out puzzles and saw new animations.

Has anyone else found adventure games really useful when spending time with kids?  I've babysat a few times and I'm convinced playing Monkey Island with young people is a lot more entertaining than watching Harry Potter for the fourteenth time.

They have such a fresh perspective, and watching them reminds me of my own childhood. 

Maybe there is a young child in your life who you have not thought to share adventure games with?  Try today, and tell us how the kid reacts, if he likes it or if he finds it boring.

I know I sound like a televangelist.

[DoorKnobHandle]

You are definately right.

I especially love it when the adventure game contains material that you don't really get as a child but later when you replay the game.

I had this with Day Of The Tentacle... I played it a lot as a child and nowadays, it still is interesting, because there were so many clues and hints that I didn't get before...

[Babar]

Of course it is a useful way to spend time with kids! Most of my childhood was spent with my family playing computer games with my parents and siblings. Everyone helped out. Even when I played them one my own, I would get advice from my when I got stuck. I tried playing adventure games with my little cousin, but after a few minutes he got bored and said he wanted "a game with guns". I got pissed off, so I put on Moorhuhn Jagd for him.

[SSH]

When they get older, I hope to introduce my two daughters to adventure game classics (such as the Princess Marian games, etc. ) and also to help them draw pictures and make up their own games with AGS. I'll be so proud when they post thjeir first forum game annoucnement here saying "Here is my first game with AGS. It has one room and the graphics of a 6 year old. I hope I win lots of awards"

Seriosuly, though, I wish I had AGS when I was a stripling and I think it could encourage creativity. Also, if my daughters play any games on a computer (other than those on nickjr.co.uk, etc.) then I'd much ratyher they played adventures than somehting like Doom 3 or GTA.

So, I'll just let them play Phantasmagoria 2...

[Krazy]

I first played through MI 1 and 3 (for the first time) with my 8 year old brother and he loved them. So when I got SNM and DOTT he wanted to play them by himself now. Hehe shaping up another fututre adventure game player 

[Chicky]

I finished FOA when i was 7. How i loved that game 

[DragonRose]

I've never played adventures with a kid, but I've been the kid that had grown-ups play adventures with her.  I don't think I've ever been so proud as when we were playing KQ5, and I was the one who figured out right off the bat how to defeat the wolves. I even learned my left from my right by playing adventures with other people.  When I got to control the game (not often) my sister or my parents would tell me which way to go- up, down, left or right. I had to learn left and right or they wouldn't let me control the game.

Good times, good times.

[Renal Shutdown]

If I tried sharing a game with a kid any time soon, I'll probably get arrested.
If and when I breed, they're totally playing monkey island.

[BerserkerTails]

The early Sierra adventures taught me how to read and write. Kings Quest 5 taught me how to use dos (Had to learn how to start the game). I know that I'll be sharing all my adventures with my eventual kids.

For now though, I have my girlfriend, who's only played the Myst games... Hahaha, oh the games I'm going to make you play dear, hahaha.

[viktor]

I know just how that kid felt  evenwolf. I can still remember how me and my older cousin played the monkey island games and simon the sorcerer. I think I was about 8-9 when I played my first adventure game. And I went nuts when I found a combination. I didn't know any english at that time so I was just blindly guesing but it was still fun. 

But a lot of kids today will never know how fun it is to play these games.  Kids today got hooked by action and race games (not that there's anything wrong with these games).