
Perhaps it’s a rainy day or a snowy one, or maybe the kids have finished all their homework and they’ve built every puzzle in the house or they’re just driving you a little crazy and the usual tricks aren’t working. Enter Kongregate, a website with over eleven thousand free games to play.
I understand there’s a time and place for mindless drivel and let it be said, I am a huge proponent of limited screen time for kids and parents alike, be it television, game console or computer screen time. Whenever I try to talk about the redeeming qualities of video games and the likes of, it’s as if I am trying to argue the nutritional value of Twinkies.
Depending on the genre and the game, there is some value in some of them. Personally, I am drawn to builders, multi-players, strategy games and puzzle solvers. One could argue that these have a fair number of redeeming values assuming they are well designed and executed, sure some may think I am stretching here but I concur, it beats watching re-runs.
Many feel like “sketches” of games with placeholder art, stick figures and all, while others have a very impressive professional ‘gloss to them. But when you get down to game play many of them are quite fun, dare I say (a tad) addictive. With titles like Shopping Cart Hero, Fantastic Contraption, and Monsters’ Den there is plenty to explore. Set the egg timer (otherwise, you’ll lose track of time) and have a blast.

Tags:
13-18 years,
3-5 years,
6-8 years,
9-12 years,
computers,
family fun,
tech talk