Toys and games have been used to entertain kids for a long time; it can be even traced back to the Indus Valley civilization.Many of the games we now see kids playing may not have been considered children’s games in the past. For example, historians believe that the use of dice was much more prevalent among adult games than among children.Fast forward to the present day, and the die is almost essential for many popular board games for kids like Chutes and Ladders have an active use of dice. While both adults and children love to play it, one of the surprising game facts about this classic game is that it was actually based on deep Indian philosophies - focusing on the concepts of karma (destiny) and kama (desire).Along with different indoor board games, there are great outdoor games that children can play as well. Games like Hide and Seek, Hopscotch, Red Rover, and more. While many outdoor games can be played indoors, the free space of a yard or garden makes these games even more exciting!With technology, now video games have also advanced a lot, and there are many games that kids could play on their gaming console (a PlayStation, Xbox, or maybe a Nintendo Switch). While they can opt for simple games like Super Mario, there are plenty of amazing educational, action-adventure, and fun games that the gaming world offers.You can also check out Introduction to interesting games and Different types of games!Different Types Of Games For KidsFrom a child development perspective, playing games is quite important. At each development stage, a child takes up a specific role and plays a type of game either independently or cooperatively with other children. These indicate the type of games kids play and can also help parents choose what game they could gift their kid during that stage.Even as an infant, there are several stages a child can go through when they are playing a game. At first, there is an unoccupied play stage when the child just observes the world around them and explores how people behave. It is almost like the child is understanding the stage where they could play. Eventually, the child will play alone and look quite focused and involved in their own world. They can play with different toys like dolls and figures. When they have reached the age of three, they will start taking a role of an onlooker. During this stage, the child tries to observe and understand the rules of a game and how they would approach games as a whole. This would eventually lead to participating in cooperative gameplay. However, before that, there would be the parallel game stage. Once the child understands how the world of games work, they would approach another child playing a game and would play their own game parallelly. You might have children sitting together but playing their own game. This is the parallel play that eventually gives way to associative games.During the age of 3-4, children are into associative games. They are into games like building blocks or other strategic building games. While they play it as an individual, during this stage, they also interact with the other children, ask for suggestions on how to make their city better, and even ask for cooperation and help. This is a critical stage that leads to the beginning of language development, communication, and friendship. Eventually, children start to engage in cooperative play.Cooperative games are the most important development for older preschoolers and sometimes, a few younger ones. Children start playing and bonding over games and engage in active socialization and achieving goals as a team. They can play board games like Chutes and Ladders or puzzle games and even set the stage for playing outdoor games like hide and seek. Eventually, this game stage leads to multiple game types.Children can engage in competitive games with rules and winners and losers or constructive games where they use Lego to build cities or use magnet towers. Imaginative children can also engage in fantasy games where they act as doctors, and other children can act as patients. Physical play like playing with a ball or riding a bike can gradually become a part of their games too. Many children also engage in playing video games or singing and drawing - showcasing their creative side.Video Games And Their ExamplesWhile many may feel like video games are bad for kids, they might not turn out to be so. Video games are here to stay, and there are many video games that can be helpful for kids. If you want some weird video game facts, you might be surprised to know that it is said that surgeons who play video games are actually less prone to errors. Plus, one of the other video game facts that many do not know is that video games can help improve your decision-making capacity, on top of making you better at hand-eye coordination. Gaming can help you multitask better too.Now that you are aware of some of these amazing video game facts, you may wonder what video games you can introduce to your kids. For children, there are many great video games like the classic Mario Brothers, Mario Kart, and Rayman Legends. These are fun adventure or racing games with great animation and an amazing community of people.Surprisingly, one of the biggest games to exist in terms of popularity has to be Minecraft, which is also a game that can be played by kids. It is a great game where players have to build their own house or even city, learn resource management and also meet with other players. Minecraft is an important game for the video game industry and the gaming world as a whole too.For more story-driven fun games, Zelda: Breath Of The Wild can be an emotional game to go for. If you are into PlayStation games, then there are many PlayStation exclusives like Uncharted or Jak and Daxter that your kids can play. However, some of these PlayStation games are best played in the teenage years.A co-op game can be amazing to create a bond over games. A co-op game like Overcooked is chaotic and fun to play with many people. As a parent, you can also enter into the gaming space by playing with your kids. Sonic Mania can be a good co-op game to play.Board Games And Their ExamplesThere are many interesting different types of board games that you can play with your kids. A board game creates a great platform for children to connect with others and have fun. Different board games have a limit to the number of players playing them. Most of the time, a game can have a minimum requirement of two people, but at times, it can go higher too.A great and intelligent way to introduce children to a board game would be going for the classics - Battleship, Chutes and Ladders, Connect 4, Chess, Checkers, and Scrabble can be great games to go for. In Battleship, two players play against each other, trying to guess the location of their opponent’s fleet and trying to take it down. Chutes and Ladders is the classic dice game where you either progress or descend as per your dice results. Scrabble can be a great game to play if you are looking to help your child improve their vocabulary. Chess and checkers are also great strategy games to help kids strategize and calculate their next move while playing a game.There are many other games where even family members can come in and contribute to the game. Games like Sequence can be a great introduction to card-based games. In Sequence, you play a little bit of luck-based poker and bingo with cards and also have a board where you try to win against an opponent by blocking them from making a sequence of wins.There are many old board games and even modern board games that are coming up often in the market. Some other board games for kids can be: Guess Who?, Scotland Yard, Dixit, Labyrinth, Catan, and more.Outdoor Games For KidsChildren may not always like being indoors. A physical game may require larger space like the yard or garden attracts children too. There are common classic games like hide and seek, hopscotch (where you hop across a grid), playing tag, or musical chairs. However, there are a variety of games that you can involve a kid.A great game that is becoming more and more famous is Red Light, Green Light. One person becomes the traffic light, while the others move towards the finish line. When that person says Red Light and turns, everyone should stop. Any movement spotted will eliminate the player.Capture the flag is another game where two teams have their flags or an element set up in their base. The other team has to strategize and capture the element, bringing it back to their own base. People can even tag a person and send them to jail. A person from the opponent has to free the imprisoned player from the opponent team’s jail.If you have a large group of games and also have access to a swimming pool, Marco Polo is an amazing game. The ‘it’ of the game is Marco, and he has to call out ‘Marco’. The other players would hide at different areas of the swimming pool and reply ‘Polo’. Now, ‘Marco’ would have to locate the sound and try to catch any of the other players - without opening their eyes. Another similar game on land would be Blind Man’s Bluff, where the ‘it’ has to wear a blindfold and try to tag other players. A quick trivia on Blind Man’s Bluff - it was played back in Tudor England.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 109 fun and interesting games that will rock your world, then why not take a look at archery facts or gamer facts?
Toys and games have been used to entertain kids for a long time; it can be even traced back to the Indus Valley civilization.
