Parents often struggle to come up with new ideas of how to entertain their kids. You’ve got days out in the park, trips to museums, and going to the cinema. While these activities are fun, we don’t always have the time or energy for outside trips, especially in the cold winter months. Luckily, there’s an option that doesn’t involve leaving the house – mobile gaming.
2.2 billion. That’s the number of active mobile gamers worldwide. Some of these gamers are adults, some are children, and designers have created games that both groups can play together. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the great mobile games you can play together with your kids.
The Best Child-Friendly Mobile Games You Can Play on iOS and Android as a Family
Draw Something Classic
Dubbed the “world’s most popular drawing game,” Draw Something Classic is a free social drawing game aimed at all ages. If you’re a fan of Pictionary or Charades, then this is the game for your family.
The concept is simple; you choose an opponent and select an item to draw. Different objects have different difficulty levels. For example, drawing a balloon is considered easy, while a ring is hard. Then you draw!
After you’ve finished drawing, your opponent has to guess your word, and you do the same for their drawing.
Snail Bob 2
Snail Bob 2 is a fun physics puzzler that kids can play independently or with the family. Bob is an adorable but clueless snail that simply crawls onwards regardless of the situation. In other words, he’s a regular snail. Your job is to keep him out of harm’s way by switching levels, using buttons, and activating machines. The game adds new challenges to each level to keep things fresh, and adults are sure to enjoy the troves of quirky pop culture references that will probably go over kids’ heads.
We also put Snail Bob 2 firmly in the category of fair mobile games, those that don’t bully you into buying in-app purchases just to progress.
Heads Up
If you’re looking for a game that will have the family in fits of laughter, look no further than Heads Up. This neat, truly social smartphone game has you select a category, then hold your phone up to your forehead so your family can see the phrase, but you can’t. They then act out the word or phrase to try and get you to guess what it is. If you’re blanking on an answer, you can tilt the phone upwards to move on to the next card.
You can play in teams, select the number of rounds, and even add new card decks, so you never risk getting the same prompts.
First popularized on The Ellen Show, Heads Up has become known as one of the best smartphone games to play with friends and family.
Worms 3
This one will be a blast from the past for many parents. The Worms 3 mobile game is based on the wildly popular classic game of the same name. It’s a chaotic turn-based strategy game where you wipe out the opposition with your team of invertebrates until the last team (or worm) is standing. To help in your warring, you get deadly weapons and destructible terrain, allowing you to wreak maximum havoc.
It’s worth noting that the game is listed as age 9+ on iOS and 10+ on Android, so it might not be suitable for younger children.
While the campaign is fun, where Worms 3 really thrives is with its multiplayer mode. In fact, Games Master called it “one of the most accomplished multiplayer experiences on mobiles.”
Marble Mixer
This is another modern twist on a classic game, but this time a much older game. Marble Mixer is a fun 1-4 player game for the whole family.
While clearly, it’s not quite the same as pinging an actual marble and hearing that satisfying ding of glass, the physics in this game is solid. You can shoot and flick your marbles in three different game modes, involving such elements as target boards, a monster’s mouth, and outer space vortexes.
Balanced Tower AR
Can one of the best traditional family games become one of the best smartphone games? We think so. Balanced Tower AR is Jenga, but with a less catchy (albeit apt) name. Today, most smartphones have AR, but the technology is still underutilized in many games. Not here!
If you’re on the go and don’t want to lug around a cumbersome Jenga set, Balanced Tower AR is an excellent alternative.
Fruit Ninja
Fruit Ninja is one of the most popular kids games out there and has a beautifully simple concept. You simply swipe your screen to slice fruit while avoiding the bombs also thrown into the mix.
While Fruit Ninja is perhaps best known as a sole game that can keep kids engrossed for hours, it does have a multiplayer mode. You can duel against an opponent on the same device, battling to see who becomes the winner.
The Room
The Room is a physical puzzler and mystery game wrapped into one. The standout feature of The Room is its excellent interactive and tactile 3D objects. In fact, gaming powerhouse IGN said “the most realistically rendered objects in a mobile game to date.”
While it’s not strictly a multiplayer game, it is a game that will get you talking. You can discuss and debate what you think you know about the puzzles and strategize your next move, all with creepy music in the background.
UNO
This game shouldn’t need much introduction – it’s the UNO you know and love (and fought over), only on mobile.
For those unfamiliar with UNO, it works like this: each player has seven cards, and the first player to discard all of their cards is the winner. Don’t worry; the app has a helpful tutorial so you can get to grips with how it works.
And that wraps up our list of the best smartphone games you can play with your kids! We’ve tried to include a range of different games, so there’s something for everyone. We hope you’ve found the right mobile game for the next rainy day!
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