DS Games for Pre-readers?

ProfJonathan writes "My daughter just got a DS from the grandparents for her 6th birthday. She's only beginning to read, but wants a bunch of games of her own rather than just playing her older brothers' games. She got Nintendogs with the DS, so that's taken care of, but other relatives are asking what she might want. Can anyone recommend some good DS games that don't require reading skill, that might be age-appropriate and interesting for a 1st grade girl?" Wouldn't it be creepy if the kid had a really good brain age?

Some Ideas

[stoolpigeon (454276)]

Here are a few.
Diddy Kong Racing [amazon.com]
Yoshi's Island [amazon.com]
Super Princess Peach [amazon.com]
Kirby Squeak Squad [amazon.com]
Lego Star Wars [amazon.com]
Strawberry Shortcake [amazon.com]
Smart Girls Playhouse [amazon.com]

I know my 4 year old son loves Mario Kart. Lego Star Wars is his other favorite. That has a lot to do with how much he likes the films also. So if your child isn't familiar with the movies, or doesn't care for them, it would make a big difference of course.

Based on my own daughters - I would also recommend Animal Crossing [amazon.com]. Now this involves reading, but that's not bad. It's really going to encourage and motivate her so that she can play. The ideas are pretty much what you get with the whole webkinz rage - and I know my 6 year old and 7 year old girls are totally into that. There so many more ds titles she would probably really enjoy it isn't even funny. Barbie stuff, Disney Princess stuff, etc.

Re:Some Ideas

[xtracto (837672)]

I would also recommend Animal Crossing. Now this involves reading, but that's not bad. It's really going to encourage and motivate her so that she can play.

I agree completely with that!

If the girl is 6 years old then I guess she should be learning to read by now don't you think so?? In any case, I completely recommend to use the games to encourage them to learn to read. I am really glad my first language is not English because when I was a kid (around the the Atari/NES times) playing RPGs like Final Fantasy , Dragon Warrior and Ultima made me want to learn English (even having a dictionary at my side when I played). There was also another game which name I do not remember, it was a Tiny Toons (or Looney Toons) game in which you had to create a "film" and it even had the text clouds with some dialogues.

I have always thought games are the *best* way to teach kids (it is the natural way of learning, not only for humans but for every species!) from learning to talk to learning AI algorithms (programming intelligent software mini robots that fight against each other )

Lego Star Wars on DS--meh.

[Soulfader (527299)]

Sorry, but Lego Star Wars on the DS--well, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, at least--is a mediocre game at best. Bad camera angles, unresponsive controls, and a few levels (Endor, especially) with chronic slowdowns that make it virtually unplayable. It's a shame because the game is so good on many other platforms; even the Game Boy Advance version, while much simplified, is more fun to play.

Of the games my wife and I have, Club House Games [amazon.com] is probably the only one (aside from the excellent Mar

Re:Lego Star Wars on DS--meh.

[CommanderData (782739)]

Yes, the original trilogy was complete crap. Buggy nearly to the point of being unplayable. The new Lego Star Wars - Complete Saga for the DS was done from scratch by another developer and is much better. I can also throw in a hearty recommendation for Clubhouse games!

Re:Lego Star Wars on DS--meh.

[Reaperducer (871695)]

She's only beginning to read

Good to hear.

My daughter just got a DS from the grandparents for her 6th birthday.

Well, that should put an end to it.

She's only beginning to read at age 6?!

[by Anonymous Coward]

I'm surprised that she's only beginning to read at age 6. Myself and most of my friends were reading Hardy Boys books at that age. My son just turned 3 now, and he's quite able to read Berenstein Bears and similar books by himself. My nephew is 5, and he just finished his first Goosebumps book.

It's too late to rectify the situation now, but your daughter probably should have started to read when she was two or three years old. By the time she's six, she should be quite able to read newspapers, magazines, an

Re:

[Eli Gottlieb (917758)]

Don't worry about the girl -- some people just let their children wait until school to learn to read. I learned to read in first grade at age 5, but today I'm minimizing... let's see... ah: "The Design and Implementation of Typed Scheme" to post on Slashdot.

Re:

[Original Replica (908688)]

These days reading isn't the only way to learn. The use and manipulation of different GUIs might as important 20 years from now as reading text. That said, early childhood education is very important, while the brain is growing and forming it's most basic pathways it's an educational advantage if "how to learn" is being hardwired in. The difference is most noticeable in children where given little interaction at as babies/infants. They (statistically)never are able to absorb new concepts or information as q

Colors!

[tepples (727027)]

Good luck drawing with the touch screen on a DS.

I tried. I came up with this [brombra.net] and this [brombra.net]; others came up with these [brombra.net].

Re:

[Fallus Shempus (793462)]

Whoa there, way to make someone feel bad.

When you start to read has very little relation to reading ability later, my son didn't really learn till 6, he was quite late compared to some in his class, now he's ahead of them, a whole 2 years later.

Re:

[Hognoxious (631665)]

Whoa there, way to make someone feel bad.

Only if someone tells her what it says....

Re:

[creimer (824291)]

At six years old, I was probably still drawing crayon pictures in the family encyclopedia set that no one uses. However, by the eighth grade, my reading skills was college level. I would recommend giving the kid crayons and an encyclopedia set instead of a DS and games. :)

Re:

[creimer (824291)]

Nah... I can read a book by looking at the cover instead of opening it. ;)

Re:She's only beginning to read at age 6?!

[Orange Crush (934731)]

The trick isn't getting a kid to read as early as possible, it's getting them to *want* to learn to read and continue reading. What did it for me was when my parents finally bought a computer. I was 5 or 6, IIRC. Back in the DOS days it was awfully difficult to get around unless you could read. I was determined to learn to read so I could play with it. I've been a voracious reader ever sense. And I beat Mickey's Space Adventure before my older sister did and bragged like hell about it for months. (Yeah, I was a bit of a little twerp that way. ;D).

Get the kid as many good games with lots of text as possible. Buy her any book she wants and keep encouraging her to read to her heart's content. Don't get pushy. You don't want her to equate reading with "you're not leaving this table until you eat those brussel sprouts!" If she learns to love reading, she'll have a much easier time in school and might just grow up to be smart enough to take good care of you when you're old and senile. ;)

a more pressing problem in America

[adolf (21054)]

You exemplify a growing trend for people to spend way too much fucking time raising everyone else's kids.

How about you just worry about your own, let he worry about his, while I worry about mine?

You OK with that, champ?

Or would you really prefer that everyone else tell you what to do with your own children, too? I'm sure that no matter what you say about them, I can find something sufficiently abnormal about your statement to feed a steady stream of admonishment toward you, your children, and your methods

Re:a more pressing problem in America

[Wumpus (9548)]

As long as my tax money pays for your kid's education, your kid's education is my problem. Our society thinks that how children are educated is everyone's problem, because if you (hypothetically speaking) are content not to teach your child how to read, write, do arithmetic and not beat up the other children and she grows up to become a burden on society, then she's a burden on society and society thinks that something should be done about it. Like telling you to educate your kids.

While you could make the argument that this is nobody's business but your own, and that YOU don't want to pay for other people's children's education or medical insurance, it seems that enough Americans think otherwise and don't want to change it. As things stand now, society at large takes an interest in how you raise your kids. Deal with it.

Re:

[adolf (21054)]

While our earliest hunter-gatherer ancestors would have regarded children as belonging to the tribe, today we have a "Stay the fuck away from MY children! MINE MINE MINE!" attitude.

I agree with this point. And I like your tribal analogy. Let us continue to develop it:

This isn't just someone from the local tribe handing out some well-meaning advice, but something far more global.

It is very different, and anyone would be a fool to think otherwise. Getting unsolicited advice about child development from a n

Re:

[EtoilePB (1087031)]

I could read books at age 3. My ex-boyfriend couldn't read until he was in the 3rd grade, aged 9. Guess what? In our late 20s, we're both voracious readers (I finished my 80th book of the year last night!); he went to an Ivy League school and I've got a master's from a respectable enough university.

Not all kids learn on the same pace. And many adult gamers are ALSO voracious readers. (There's more text in some Japanese RPGs than in all of War and Peace, I swear.) I wouldn't go freaking out about the

Re:She's only beginning to read at age 6?!

[bornwaysouth (1138751)]

Ee Lad, tha were luxury. When I were still 3, da would belt me if I hadn't read another volume of t' Encyclopedia Britannica before breakfast. Then it were down into Yorkshire coal mines as usual.

Life were good compared to my younger sister. As 10 week embryo, she had to read t' engravings on t' needle used to check out if she had genetic deformities such as leanings toward Lancaster.

Those are good suggestions

[nobodyman (90587)]

As the parent of a 5yo daughter, I definitely agree with games mentioned in the parent post. Super Princess Peach is probably the best in that group (in my opinion), because it strikes a good balance of being easy for kids to control while still being very fun to play. It also encourages thinking skills -- you can use elemental tools such as fire to melt ice obstacles, water to douse fires, etc.

I also agree that it's okay for games to have words, even if the child cannot yet read them. My daughter is ju

Colors!

[tepples (727027)]

Get the R4 adapter [r4ds.com] and a microSD card [google.com], and put Colors! [collectingsmiles.com] on it. Look what others have made [brombra.net].

Re:

[hansamurai (907719)]

Not only that but you can buy all the games that stoolpigeon [slashdot.org] recommended and then put them on the R4 so you never have to worry about your daughter losing any of her games. But maybe she's more responsible than a 23 year old "adult" and she won't have that problem (if anyone sees my Mario Kart, let me know).

Re:

[stoolpigeon (454276)]

That is awesome.

Ummmm

[inSpecter (25343)]

She is 6 and cannot read? I would focus on that part first before letting her play games.

Re:

[stoolpigeon (454276)]

Every kid is different, and I wouldn't be too quick to jump to any conclusions without more information. Plus - she may be working super hard on learning to read, but she is still going to need some down time and fun. The DS can be a great motivator for the reading and even a nice supplement if she moves on to playing games with some text.

Re:

[MBCook (132727)]

See, that's why a game like Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga is good. If she can get into it (she's a little young for the amount of text, I think) it has a fair amount of text so she reads it and gets practice reading, but isn't thinking about that, she's just playing a game.

Re:Ummmm

[nido (102070)]

I'm 26 and never really learned to read myself [slashdot.org].

Kids learn to read anywhere between the ages of 2 and 9. My mother taught herself to read when she was 5 years old - her parents had decided that a caretaker was cheaper than kindergarten, and mom was extremely bored. Motivation is what counts, mostly. By trying to force all kids to read at age 5, the system hurts children who won't want to learn to read until later.

I do okay with non-fiction, but my "imagination" functionality is totally disabled. Almost got it figured out...

Read the comment & follow-ups linked above for more on how I figured out that I can't really read.

Not completely abnormal but do work on reading 1st

[everphilski (877346)]

There's plenty of kids who have a mental stumbling block with respect to reading. But generally once you get it, even if it takes till 6 or 7 to get it, they shoot off real quick. It's like a switch that flips in their heads. But not reading at 6 is not the norm. A lot of kids are reading in kindergarten, some in preschool already.

For every 6 or 7 year old 'late' reader there is a 2 year old reader. My son is 2 and sounding out words already, I have no doubt he'll be reading simple books in a few months.

Re:

[TheRaven64 (641858)]

I wish I could mod up the second half of your post. Parental involvement is vital to teaching reading. If you are not reading books with your children then you giving them a serious disadvantage in modern society. That said, if she is six then you are about four years too late. The original poster is either a negligent parent, or his daughter has serious learning difficulties. If the latter is the case then he should get her to a child psychologist, who can probably give him some good recommendations f

Re:

[crossmr (957846)]

anyone I know learned to read before the first grade.

Does she like Princesses?

[Abjuk (29648)]

Disney Princess: Magical Jewels [amazon.com] is another good one, if she's in to the whole Princess craze.

Here's one!

[Gigiya (1022729)]

New York Times Crosswords [amazon.com].

Re:

[creimer (824291)]

I think the kid might have an easier reading the paper [nytimes.com] instead of doing the crosswords. :P

reading

[digitalderbs (718388)]

DS games that don't require reading skill

Why not make this a good opportunity to teach her how to read -- you're never too young to learn. If she encounters something she can't read, read it for her, or you can sit next to her as she plays the game. It's a great way to get kids to read without making them feel like it's a chore. The animation of the scenarios can help her understand what she's reading too.

To answer your question, I believe the new Super Mario would be a good choice.

Re:

[hansamurai (907719)]

You're never too young to learn on your DS either. Taco seems to think it'd be funny if she scored a good brain age, but why the heck not let her try? All of us grew up seeing Game Boys and Nintendos as basically toys. It'd be great if the next generation saw them as learning devices along with entertainment devices.

Age 6?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Umm, I have a few friends with a 2-1/2 and 3 year olds. They're already starting to teach their kids to read. You may want to focus on that instead of giving her games. Buy her some books. Let her play the DS after spending 30-60 minutes of time a day working on reading.

Re:Age 6?

[Sibko (1036168)]

Let her play the DS after spending 30-60 minutes of time a day working on reading.

No, do not do this. Reading should never be related to work. She should not be 'forced' to read for an hour if she wants to play her games. That turns reading into a chore, and she won't want to do it.

Re:

[bitt3n (941736)]

Reading should never be related to work. She should not be 'forced' to read for an hour if she wants to play her games.

Why don't you force her to play with the DS for an hour before you let her read a book. Maybe you can fool her into literacy.

Re:

[rothbart (813487)]

As a parent of a 6 yr old girl myself that is a great "phonetic" speller and budding reader, I think a lot of you are COMPLETELY overreacting over this. My daughter is very close to reading... she can read age appropriate books. Actually "read", not memorize. But honestly, when you're 6, reading is a bit of a chore and it's not hard to understand it might be "fun" to actually have some ENTERTAINMENT in addition to the total-stranger-advocated-reading-tutorials some of you seem to be pushing. Remember, t

Why would you want games that don't have reading?

[Ignorant Aardvark (632408)]

You've left me wondering why you want recommendations of games that don't involve reading. Six years old is hardly too young to be learning how to read. If anything, you want games that will help teach reading. So what you really want is a game that has reading in it, but can still be understood even by a gamer who isn't a good reader yet. There are many games that fit that bill. As a suggestion, check out Meteos. It's a really great puzzle game with five different levels of difficulty (so she'll be able to win it at least on the lowest level), and after completing the campaign mode, there are a multitude of all-text epilogues explaining how your victory (or lack thereof) in the final level affected events. That's a great way to practice reading. You can sit down with her and read it for her when she's playing; it'll be a good lesson, and she'll be interested because she'll want to know how the game ended up.

Incidentally, I first learned the word "Congratulations" when it popped up at the end of a particularly hard Game Boy game I had been playing for a long while (this was when I was really young). I asked my dad what it said. After that, I was more proud of being able to read such a long word than at having beaten the game.

Re:Why would you want games that don't have readin

[chitokutai (758566)]

I recommend Oregon Trail. How else will a child learn the words Typhoid and Cholera?

monkey island

[diskis (221264)]

Give her games with real text. Those old Monkey Island games taught me English. Was quite fun the next year when we started learning English in school. When most pupils could say "This is a book", I used words as "rubberchicken with a pulley in the middle". You could actually install ScummVM and run Monkey Island on the DS :)

Killing two birds with one stone

[readandburn (825014)]

I'm sure many of you are familiar with this site [videogamecritic.net], but the VGC just reviewed a couple of DS games for young kids. Reviews are also tagged with icons to determine if a game is suitable for young ones.

Also, in light of the recent controversy at Gamespot, this is a good site for truly independent reviews (although it can take a while for new games to show up). You can see what one game publisher did after he gave a bad review [videogamecritic.net].

Re:

[creimer (824291)]

Gamespot's reputation for independent reviews may be history [penny-arcade.com] now after a game publisher pulled their advertising and the reviewer got canned.

Also Check Game Review Sites

[pyrrhonist (701154)]

There are some great review sites that often include this type of information in the review.

GameSpot gets a 10/10 in this area.

Get off my lawn.

[xxxJonBoyxxx (565205)]

A 6-year-old "pre-reader" with a personal game system? Great - she'll need those gaming skills to keep herself happy when she plows through a series of dead-end jobs in her twenties.

Before it's too late, let the thing run low on batteries and then have her pitch in with her own cash to buy more. (Your 6-year-old IS familiar with money by now, right?) That will get old fast, and she'll be back to playing with other kids, running around the block, setting fire to cats and all the other things 6-year-olds s

Re:

[Dorceon (928997)]

The DS has a built in rechargeable, which is the fatal flaw in your cruel plan.

Don't Give In On Duplicates

[Nom du Keyboard (633989)]

If she wants other games than already exist in the family collection, that's reasonable. But if she just wants her own copy of a game her brother already has, a firm "No" is necessary.

Better to have her learn at a young age the difference between reasonable, and unreasonable, demands. Fail here, and you'll pay an ever more expensive price each year for decades to come.

Electroplankton

[makapuf (412290)]

This is a really good "game" for a younger (starting from three), I let my son play with it. It doesn't focus on 'winning', 'baddies', killing people or whatever, it is just an introduction to music, sounds, ... He LOVES it.

Of course, he likes also me playing with him to it, and making mario boucing into walls at super mario world really makes him laugh.

Slashdot Culture

[toiletsalmon (309546)]

I find it strangely interesting (and entertaining) that the sex-starved, pale, anti-social geeks that supposedly frequent this place have so many strong opinions about how someone else should raise their child. The mind boggles...