Tyrian 2000. Comes with 2-player support - you can use keyboard/mouse/joystick. I have yet to find any similar game that comes anywhere near it in terms of customization, options, storyline, and detail.

Oh, and it's free.

Hey how about Moonbase Commander? Haven't played it myself, but it was developed by Humongous Entertainment, and it looks like it would be fit for kids.

Ah! I see you put Botanicula in the mix. Can't believe I forgot that. While the gameplay was a little too much randomly-click-on-things-to-see-what-happens for me, the visuals and music were amazing, and my daughter really enjoyed the bits of it she played.

Edit: and yeah, now thinking about Botanicula...what about adding Machinarium? Sure some of the puzzles might be too hard for younger kids (that's why you play with them!), but I'm sure they'd like the cute robots and funny animations and all that.

Lots about games already, so it's trials and tribulations from me...

On Saturday night, we checked on my eldest son as we went to bed and found him asleep in a huge puddle of congealed vomit. We got him up and bathed him, stripped everything vomity off his bed, and put him back to bed in the spare room. He did it again in the spare room. We got him up and bathed him (again), stripped everything vomity (less stuff this time) off the bed, and got him back to bed in the spare room again - bed was clean enough to be re-used. Then our youngest son puked in his bed... Think we were up till about 1am.

On Sunday, we largely did laundry. Bed sheets, duvets, pillows, soft toys... I think 6 or 7 loads in the end.

On Sunday night, our youngest son came into our bed - and puked in it. We stripped and re-made the bed, and got him cleaned up. He did it again. Needed a full bath this time, as he had it all in his hair. We were up till 2am.

Last night, our youngest did it again in his bed. Huge stomach-full, all over himself.

I have forlorn hopes that tonight is going to be a vomit-free night.

Wow. If they're passing around a stomach virus, here's to hoping you don't get it, too. So much harder to take care of sick kids when you get sick, too.

Reminds me of my daughter's 5th birthday a couple months ago. She puked all over herself in the car on the way to her party. We had forgotten a just-in-case change of clothes, so we had to turn around, head home, clean her up and change her, etc. We were already late at this time, and she was adamant about still going to her party (mostly just family at a friend's house, no risk of getting other kids sick), so off we went again. My wife said she felt like she was in "Get Him to the Greek." Anyway, we got there and she puked on herself again. Then again after eating her cake. After that she seemed better and was in good spirits the whole time, so I guess it worked out. Felt so bad for her though. :/

My current philosophy on digital devices/media and young kids is to allow them to use/view them, but to almost always be actively engaged together while they use them and help guide my kids on how to use them in a way that benefits their growth and skillsets without them becoming a time-wasting addiction. The way I see it, when our kids become adults there will be even more digital devices and temptations all around them, and I feel that if I can foster a positive relationship and respectful usage of these tools throughout their childhood then they will hopefully be able to take full advantage and control of the technology while not becoming a victim of it.

In many ways, this has also been a great learning experience for myself as I have been forced to question my own usage of electronic devices and games, and see how I can balance and take advantage of these tools without losing sight of my own core ideals. I took my oldest son down that path at around the same age your daughter is now. Those old NES games are really wonderful for this sort of thing, and while they can be quite difficult for a 5-year-old to successfully control, playing them together where I am on the controller and he is co-pilot and chief navigator has been a great bonding experience. It was also something that we both really enjoyed, and kids are definitely in-tune with what their parents truly enjoy as opposed to just doing something you don't really want to do and being patronizing.

I also think there are some positive skills that can be taken from games like Legend of Zelda, where things like map memory and problem solving can be encouraged while playing together. At times, philosophical topics can even be explored, as I like to ask my kids questions about the game to get them thinking about it in ways maybe they wouldn't have before. Stuff like "Why do you think that one skeleton has a key inside him?"

I've also been using games and media to support bilingualism in my kids. It's been an excellent way to encourage interest in English and to inspire a natural desire to want to be able to read the words on the screen. Adventure games like King's Quest may also be a great way to encourage a love of words and reading, perhaps similar to how reading chapter books aloud to kids helps them gain an interest in books and language. One other thing I like about older games with pixel graphics is that they are more abstract, and I believe are therefore more open to allow for imaginative interpretations and how it could relate to things in their own life.

I'm not a parent.....that I know of, but am an uncle, never considered kids games here on gog. lol

Thanks for that list! I'll be adding those to the gogmix and master list in the coming days. Kids ages and what they can do is highly variable, but on the whole RCT and Theme Park might go down well if played together with an adult from about 5 y.o. I think, depending on the kid's interests, and then to play by themselves yeah maybe closer to the 9-10 y.o. mark.

I think around 6-8 kids can start to develop the hand-eye coordination an motor skills to play basic platformers, though easy ones are probably a better fit for this younger range. Although I do sometimes have my 6-year old try to play original Mega Man games to help him develop patience, failure-tolerance, and growth-mindset.
Ugh, so sorry to hear about your vomitous weekend. I do hope your kids are OK and feel better soon. We had something similar a few months back only it was coming out the other end...

There's a coin laundry not too far from us and that definitely helped with those giant laundry loads. I'm not sure if that would be an option in your situation?

Having spent a number of hours with my two young daughters playing computer games back in the '90s (they are now grown), I don't think any activity that you can engage in with your children is a bad thing. My daughters grew up playing the Humongous games with me (which I cannot recommend enough, and you have a couple on your list -- shame they are not on GOG), and later we moved on to the later King's Quest games (V, VI, and VII). Not surprisingly they preferred Monkey Island, perhaps because there is a strong connection between MI and Humongous (Ron Gilbert).

But what I found valuable in the process was engaging with them as they created and explored worlds beyond their own. They then incorporated these worlds into their own play, including building lego worlds. But the key for me as a parent to not feeling like I was using technology in a negative way was that we spent far more time reading stories, riding bikes, and going to the park -- plus trips out for special treats. Enjoy your children while they are young. They grow up so fast, and the bonds you create now -- with computer games or other activities -- will last.

I don't think it matters too much what you play, and GOG has plenty in its catalog that will appeal to all sorts of tastes.

I have 5 desktops and 3 laptops to cover Me, my beautiful wife, and our 7 children, only 5 of which can use a PC. The twins are 9 months old :) That said my kids have been able to figure out a mouse to do basic things on say starfall.com or the reader rabbit or jump start games at some point after they are 2. As of now I own *5* licenses for most Blizzard games, because the 6 year old got tired of sharing her account! I also own multiple copies of the SIMS 3 and the SIMS4 for my wife. we homeschool and the kids use their computers to watch youtube clips for history and a lot of science. They also earn game time by getting their online and book work done in a reasonable timeframe. The 4 year old is capable of playing DIablo III on an easier setting as she is not too fast with q for quaffing potions and such. We have had family Neverwinter Nights games, as well.

Holy shit you must be busy. :P

I got the idea for this thread realizing that a large proportion of GOG's demographics are in the 25+ range, and thus we likely have some gaming moms and dads around here. I've also seen some other threads asking for game recommendations for kids, and it's been a topic I've been thinking a lot about since becoming a 'rent.

Honestly, one of my motivations for seeking kid-friendly games is to find titles which I will also enjoy myself. I think certain games that can be played together with kids is actually more important than games which only cater to children, as I think that adult interactivity with children while they play can be an interesting way to bond.

In fact, I've gotten my kids into FTL, and while they can't really play it on their own it has been a lot of fun playing it together and asking them their opinions on jump points and ship loadouts/configurations. It's been a great game to inspire their imaginations too, as they've made drawings of new ship layouts and designs and they often imagine-play "live-action" FTL in our living room and car.

I should mention some games that brother could play with his daughter.

That's a wonderful perspective! I think I'm very similar in thinking that it's more important to just find something that you can bond with your kids with, and it's actually not that important what it is so long as it is thoroughly enjoyable by all parties involved. I think there are ways to encourage growth and positives in almost anything when done together and with thoughtful/reflective guidance.