Roblox
Platforms: Android, Mac, PC, Xbox One and iOS
Genres: Action, Adventure, Creative, Fighting, Platform, Puzzle, Rhythm, Role-Playing and Strategy
Released: June 2016. Added to this library 4 months ago, last updated 7 weeks ago.
Overview
In this game, amateur game-makers create simple online games that often mimic real-world grown-up scenarios, like working in a pizza restaurant, surviving natural disasters, escaping prison, scuba diving or playing hide-and-seek. The library of games is fast-changing, and specific games mimic the evolving rules of playground games. Playing with other children and the novelty of familiar topics make this game hugely popular. It also offers children a safe way to experience a huge variety of make-believe scenarios online.
Ensure you have selected the “Restricted Mode” in the users settings for younger players. This ensures they can only play games that have been approved by Roblox itself as suitable for a wide audience. You can also specify how they interact with other users in these settings.
- MeepCity: You play with millions of other MeepCity visitors to chat, enjoy different games, earn coins, or customize your very own estate. It’s bright and fun, and a great way to take a step into an online world with your child.
- Jailbreak: You orchestrate a robbery or stop the criminals before they get away. The fun is in teaming up with friends and working together to pull off the ultimate heist. The theme may be a bit violent but this is playground hijinks rather than anything more serious.
- Adopt Me!: In the game you can adopt pets, designing their homes, explore Adoption Island, and care for the animals that you have saved. It’s a nice gentle game, although be warned, it may lead to requests for a real pet of your own.
- Royale High: Find new friends and places to explore while you dress up in the school-themed world of Royale High. Create beautiful items for the world of Royale High to swap and trade.
- Murder Mystery 2: At the start of each round you are assigned a role: Innocent or Murderer. You must then use stealth and detection to expose the Murderer and tell the Sheriff. This is a good one for older players who have to know the maps and carefully watch how others behave to spy out the baddie.
- Work at a Pizza Place: Learn how to manage a pizza shop. Fulfil orders, take money, manage the workers, order supplies. The longer you play, the larger your house becomes and the more pizza you need to make. It’s great seeing children make business decisions and take on the roles they choose for themselves.
- Welcome to Bloxburg: A virtual world where you live and work. Choose a job, and design your own house and vehicles. It’s a great way for kids to play at being grown-up like they do in the playground.
- Prison Life: Prison Life is a playful look at what it’s like to be locked up with other people. It was a big hit game that soon earned thousands of dedicated fans. It may be prison, but really it’s about teamwork and friendships.
- Flee the Facility: Your goal here is to hide or run away from the beast. One player is a killer hunting down survivors, and other players are survivors who are running for their lives, having to collaborate in order to unlock the exits.
- Super Hero Tycoon : Try a cape on in Super Hero Tycoon where you can become one of the superheroes and build up your base to unspeakable size.
This game is good if you want to dip your toe into online games, make video games, nourish youthful ambition, play with people on different systems or play games with learning projects.
Commitment
Players: This is a single player game. You can play with up to 100 players online. 1 per screen, typically interacting with up to 100 players in online games. There are user-created games in most genres.
Cross-Play: You can play Roblox with people on different systems: Xbox One, PC, Mac, mobile.
Costs
Some Roblox games offer "loot box" style purchases.
In the game you are limited in how many Robux you can buy in one transaction:
- £0.99 for 80 Robux
- £4.99 for 400 Robux
- £9.99 for 800 Robux
You can also subscribe to get 450 Robux a month as well as discounts on buying more Robux and access to selling and trading items with other subscribed Roblox players. The games generally encourage the spending of Robux to progress as a proportion of the money spent goes to the person who creates the game.
You will need Xbox Live Gold to play online with Xbox One.
Ratings
This game has been rated ESRB EVERYONE 10+.
User-Generated Content: This game includes content created by other players, such as maps, outfits and items, that are not reflected in the game rating.
Users Interact: The game enables players to interact and communicate with each other, so may expose players to language usually associated with older rated games.
Accessibility
- Difficulty: Some games offer difficulty settings, but with so many to choose from, players usually just opt for another game if they get stuck.
- Reading: While long narrative is rare, you need to read small text on menus and even smaller text to identify other players in the game.
- Controls: Tablet games offer the option to tap to move, dynamic thumbstick (where ever you touch the screen), static thumbstick (always in the corner). On Xbox, you can view the controller buttons any time by pressing the Menu button, but you can't remap them.
- Image calibration: You can zoom in and out on tablet and smartphone versions. You can pick different camera modes. On PC you can select "Shift Lock" for a first-person view.
- Audio calibration:
System settings: Android has accessibility settings including ways to navigate and interact, although not all games support this. Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators. Xbox One has a wide range of system features including some that can be used on all games, like the excellent co-pilot mode. iOS has a very extensive suite of accessibility settings including ways to navigate with voice and comprehensive screen reading, though most of the features don't work with games... read more.
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Roblox is in These Lists
In addition to the similar games listed above, which have been linked to this game specifically in the database, you may find games with a similar theme to Roblox in the following lists:
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Checkpoint Kids is a magazine about video games for kids by kids. In each issue you’ll find activities, challenges and tasks to complete to help you and your kids understand the importance of gaming.
Checkpoint Kids has teamed up with schools across the country to help them identify gaming as a tool for literacy, creativity and social connection. Working with these schools the magazine is in a unique position provide informative supported by teachers teaching core subjects.
To access Checkpoint Kids activities download the magazine on any mobile device, tablet or access it through your browser, create a free log-in for PocketMags:
Play With People On Different Systems
These games are a good way to extend the list of friends and family that you can play with. It also makes it less critical which system you have in your home, even if your friends have a different one.
First Steps Into Online Video Games
The games in this list offer small steps to go from local play to online play. Some games, like Roblox are designed for young players with lots of special safety settings. Other games, like Sky, are designed to lead players into co-operating with each other with in-game purchases you give away, and interactions that start limited and expand as you gain experience. Then there are co-operative games like Ibb and Obb where you work together and communicate with gestures on the screen.
You can use Family Settings and Parental Controls on your system to limit how your child interacts with other players online. As well as finding the right games to get them started, it's also important that you play with them and keep game screens in shared family spaces so you can see what they are doing.
Make Your Own Video Games
You can unleash your creativity with these games that enable you to make your own games. Start with something familiar and try making your own levels in Mario Maker or get to grips with building in Minecraft. Build your confidence and creativity and soon you’ll be creating more complicated games in Dreams or LittleBigPlanet.We put this list together with the help of the brilliant National Videogame Museum, (NVM). The World's First Fully-Playable Cultural Centre Dedicated to Games. If you want more information about making your own videogames, the NVM has free resources to get you started.
Thanks for using our resource. We are editorially independant, written by parents for parents, but welcome sponsorship, partnership and suggestions. It is supported by the Get Smart About PLAY campaign from AskAboutGames.com. For more advice and guidance on video games, also check out my Taming Gaming book.Tweet
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