I'm looking for a few games to give as gifts to teenagers in the family. I talk to these kids once in a while about games, and so I have some sense of things that they do not like, which should help to elliminate a large number of possibilities.


No point-and-click.
No text adventures.
No turn-based strategy.
No platformers.
Nothing that is primarily focused around shoot-and-loot.
Nothing that is primarily focused around hack-n-slash.

All the kids like Minecraft, but all of them have played it to death.

Terraria, obviously!

I had forgotten about Terraria, but all of the kids have that one, too. I have so far resisted these sandbox type games, personally. But they seem to love them. One the kids still plays Minecraft regularly, since he first started with it years ago.

I'll check out the suggestions. By the way, you hit on a good point. Games that focus on fun would be good.

Also, I do know that at least two of the kids have at least one of the Arkham games.

I've avoided Terraria too, for like 2 years, but then loved it. How about Stardew Valley or Kingdom Rush games? Or some pirate games, like Windward, Sid Meier’s Pirates! or maybe Tempest, but I don't how good this one is. Rebel Galaxy, No Man's Sky?

Technically HuniePop does meet all of his/her requirements.

pong fits your description :D

maybe Kerbal Space Program its sandbox, has rockets and science.

HOW DID WE MISS THAT!?

darkkiller is dead solid perfect with this one.

One of the kids has Kerbal Space Program and he loves it. We watched some videos on it, and the other kids thought it is, meh.

well the game involves constant failure. Someone like me is used to that, but it might not be for everyone. :P

My dear Watson, the problem with eliminating the possible is that whatever remains, how improbable, must be true. By telling us what you don't want while only giving one example of what you do want you make it more difficult to come up with something. :P

Wurm Unlimited though is what you want. And maybe Arma 3. But you really need to expand their horizons. It's not healthy to stick to singular genres like that.

You're definitely asking for Stardew Valley and HuniePop.

To give a little background, I see these knot-heads during family gatherings throughout the year, during which we almost always end up in a back room at a computer talking about games and watching youtube videos of games that someone is playing, has heard about, or just seeing what we can find that is new to us.

Kid 1's favorite game is Grand Theft Auto V.
Kid 2, Minecraft. Also, Kid 2 and myself puked out a couple of very simple diy games in Scratch once upon a time.
Kid 3 is liking Kerbal at the moment, but he skips around alot of games.

All of them love or have loved Minecraft. All of them have arrived at the final and inevitable conclusion of Call of Duty and the like, even though it's versions go on forever. Boredom with the same old same. I agree, even though I never found COD to be compelling.

We all have a common root in Fallout 3, which is the point from which their video game fascinations stem. Oops. Don't send your kids to stay with their uncle on weekends. They might be up all night and the next day with red eyes and cramped hands, imagining Raiders and Death Claws on the horizon during the drive home. :D

Kid 3's interest in Kerbal is what eventually lead me to Human Resources Machine and Gog. I really like HRM, but I think it would be at least a bit out of their headspace for the moment. Maybe when they get just a little older.

Think of it as being, a little game.

I will check out your suggestions. Thanks.