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 Here Kitty! in the following lists:
Video games and toys are two separate things in a child's life. Online and in stores they are sold separately. At home, however, children will move from toys to video games without such strong distinctions. This list draws together all the games that cross over with toys in this way.
Very young players are often drawn to games with toy-like play. Whether
Toca Boca or
Sago Mini offer video game interactions but without missions, tasks or scores. They are games that create space, characters, locations and items for children to make up their own fun.
Then there are games that import physical toys into the play-process of the game. Sometimes this is to have a figure unlock items and save progress like in
Skylanders or sometimes this is to create new ways to interact like
Tori, Hotwheels id or
Anki.
Of the different senses, it's easy to overlook the importance of hearing. We encourage children to read, watch and observe. But just as important is to develop more than just cursory listening.
Despite their name,
video games use sounds just as much as visuals to create their worlds. As well as this, audio is often a crucial aspect of interactions and clues for puzzle solving.
Because of this, video games (like walking in nature) are a powerful way to learn to notice and use the sounds around us. Playing a game with headphones helps the player focus on the sound. Doing this intentionally can help younger players discover a new world of sound in the games they play.
There are games like
Limbo,
Hellblade,
Overboard and
Super Mario Odyssey that use sound to set the mood and aesthetic of the play. This is more than just background music as it reacts and integrates with the sounds the player is making while they play.
Then there are games like
Uncharted,
Alba,
Fortnite and
Sea of Thieves that use audio to indicate things happening in the game. Not only what is happening, like the sound of someone boarding your ship, but where that is happening in relation to your character with spatial audio.
There are games where you create the audio with your actions. Touching petals in
Flower adds notes to the classical music. In
Mini Metro you add to the ambient sounds as you place stations and new tube lines.
Finally, there are games where sound is your main way of navigating the world. Games like
The Vale and
Frequency Missing can be played with just sound. This not only offers an accessible experience to those without sight but a chance to engage with a virtual world using just our hearing.
Some forms of play are timeless. Running around with a stick pretending to be in the army. Chasing each other in games of tag. And, of course, hide and seek. The games in this list offer digital ways to play hide and seek with a variety of different twists.
Hide In A Crowd: There are games like
Spy Party,
Thief Town,
Hidden in Plain Sight and
Buissons, that let you play as a range of characters and then challenge another player to find you amongst a computer-controlled crowd, from what way you move and interact. The
Fruit game in
Game & Wario on Wii U has the same mechanics, with one person trying to steal fruit without the other players working out who they are.
Wii Party offers hiding in its Spot the Sneak mode where one player has a secret advantage in the mini-games that the other players have to spot. Another great example is
Wii U Party,
Lost and Found Square mode. One player stands in a crowd of identical people and uses the Wii U gamepad to look around and describe their location to other players, who use the TV to explore and find them. At the end, you see a map of where the players had run.
Prop Hunt: There are games with "Prop Hunt" modes where you can change into the items in the world to hide.
Fortnite has a great Prop Hunt mode, as does
Minecraft. Then there are games like
Witch It designed around this idea of transforming into normal items and hiding in a game world.
Separate Screens: There games like Mario Chase and Luigi's Ghosthouse in
Nintendoland, or
Pac-Man Vs where one person has their own screen while the others team up to hunt for them use the main TV screen. Or games you play online where everyone has their own screen and try to hide from a particular character like in
Secret Neighbor.
Screencheat is a twist on this, where you share the same screen and try to shoot each other, but your characters are invisible.
Hidden Objects: Or there are hidden object games where the computer hides things that you have to find, like
Hidden Folks and
Hidden Through Time. There's a hidden object mode in
Super Mario Odyssey where you hunt online player's hidden balloons. A twist on this is
Here Kitty where one person hides a phone that then makes cat noises until the seeker has found it.
Open World Hiding: You can use pretty much any open-world game to make your own hiding fun. You can hide in
Minecraft (having turned nameplates off), sneak around on public transport in
or simply count to 10 while visitors hide in
Animal Crossing New Horizons.
These games are for children under seven years old, who will, with some help, discover activities they want to try that will expand their imaginations while establishing the role of your guidance and engagement as part of the gaming world as they grow up. The more open imagination of young children lends itself to games that offer an open world. Rather than forcing the player in a particular direction open world games let players explore wherever they want. The games here offer unusual and age-appropriate experiences that are often educational but keep the emphasis on the sheer joy of interactive play rather than hard learning.
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