Best free games for 14 year old?

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
Trying to outfit a laptop (HD4000, i5-3120M, 4GB, Win 8 64bit, 1366x768) for a teenager.

We are trying to avoid military / killing real people type of games...zombies and stuff like that would probably be ok.

Some educational games are ok too.

I have no clue. Left 4 Dead was a favorite of mine.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
622
126
Try some adventure games. I can't remember the last time I played a decent one that didn't involve some kind of violence.

My bro is the same age he really picked up on flight simulator x. I got him a stick and that game and he modded it out. Followed the tutorials and he can fly a scenario using all the instruments pretty much. Not really everyone's cup of tea but I remember he spent months playing just that.

Gog should have some games you could filter through based on what you want.
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,506
15,737
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TF2 yes its a shooter but it has a real comical/bugs bunny cartoon feel to it.

Maybe some of the original Command & Conquer or Red Alert. EA released them as freeware before C&C 3 was released. I'd bet the free download page is still active. You can still buy these so don't get concerned if you see somebody selling them
 
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Martimus

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2007
4,488
152
106
Try some adventure games. I can't remember the last time I played a decent one that didn't involve some kind of violence.

My bro is the same age he really picked up on flight simulator x. I got him a stick and that game and he modded it out. Followed the tutorials and he can fly a scenario using all the instruments pretty much. Not really everyone's cup of tea but I remember he spent months playing just that.

Gog should have some games you could filter through based on what you want.

Other than the walking Dead, all of the telltale games adventure games are great for kids. I always get the packs from GoG when they are on sale for my daughter.

All of the Lego games are good, as is Minecraft and Terraria. My daughter also likes Heroes of Might and Magic V. I will agree with you that there just aren't many non-violent computer games being made that are any good.

Edit: I didn't realize you were looking for free games. My daughter loves Roblox, and that is free.
 
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jimrawr

Senior member
Mar 4, 2003
888
1
81
Portal? Non violent and makes you problem solve..

edit: not free but prob cheap!
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
Other than the walking Dead, all of the telltale games adventure games are great for kids. I always get the packs from GoG when they are on sale for my daughter.

All of the Lego games are good, as is Minecraft and Terraria. My daughter also likes Heroes of Might and Magic V. I will agree with you that there just aren't many non-violent computer games being made that are any good.

Edit: I didn't realize you were looking for free games. My daughter loves Roblox, and that is free.

I wouldn't mind cheap games. I am not looking to turn the PC into another XBOX. We'd rather him also get away from violence and learn something as he plays.
 

Rinaun

Golden Member
Dec 30, 2005
1,195
1
81
I'd try Bridge builder or Armadillo run. Armadillo run is insanely fun even for adults, bridge builder a bit less. You could also try minecraft, Oregon trail, Sim City 4, Freeciv, and my favorite, N. N is a platform runner. It has a bit of violence (if you fall or run into an enemy you die) but it's awesome! Note that some in this list cost money; freeciv and N I know are free. Sim City 4 is worth buying, and I'm sure you can find Oregon trail on some freeware/flash site. Minecraft is pretty computer intensive and expensive, but a blast for all ages.

edit: great game (costs money though): Kerbal Space Program. It has a steep learning curve, but your basically piloting a spaceship from launch into space. The math/physics that translate over from this game to real life is amazing.
 
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Nintendesert

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2010
7,761
5
0
He plays military games like COD and the like with his dad and acts the part in life. We are trying to change that mentality.



Tough to do, good luck with that. The power of the media is very strong at appealing to the base nature of young boys and peddling mindless violence.

Maybe you can steer him towards more strategic type war games for now and appeal to something other than his base nature and have him think more logically during his gaming. I have little doubt (while I can't quote studies) that something like CoD and something like March of Eagles stimulates completely different portions of the brain.
 

turn_pike

Senior member
Mar 4, 2012
316
0
71
How bout strategy games ?

Start with Space Chem, Civilization, Anno, Tropico.
He can then go on to grand strategy games (Paradox' games) like Victoria and Hearts of Iron. Not Crusader Kings though. Bing medieval, it might be a bit too brutal. Often you have to eliminate members of your family.
 

VulgarDisplay

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2009
6,193
2
76
How about just forget video games altogether and introduce him to a real game like baseball, soccer, basketball, or even weight lifting (judging by the H & F forums you could get him started.)

That would be the best way to stop him playing violent video games and the physical exertion would probably tucker him out and mitigate him acting like the last action hero.
 

McStevo

Junior Member
Jul 24, 2010
5
0
0
Quakelive. I started on wolfenstein 3D at age 6 and played every major violent video game onwards; Doom, Heretic, ROTT, Doom 2, Quake, Hexen all by age 10. Granted I grew up to be a major ne'er-do-well but I hardly blame it on the games.
 

Rinaun

Golden Member
Dec 30, 2005
1,195
1
81
Tough to do, good luck with that. The power of the media is very strong at appealing to the base nature of young boys and peddling mindless violence.

Maybe you can steer him towards more strategic type war games for now and appeal to something other than his base nature and have him think more logically during his gaming. I have little doubt (while I can't quote studies) that something like CoD and something like March of Eagles stimulates completely different portions of the brain.

This. If you think you are going to change his mind by eliminating militaristic games from his reach and limiting in his choices without explaining why they are shitty choices, you are just going to reinforce in his mind that he should play those games because everyone else is, and it must be cool because everyone else is doing it but your dad won't let you. It's literally like ripping out candy from someone, sticking them on veggies while everyone else is eating candy for dessert. You could educate them that eating less candy is healthier (IE better gaming choices), but simply blocking them will 110% end up with a worse scenario than what you started with. It's going to be more effective to remove all his friends that play COD from his friend circle than it is to disallow him to play militaristic games. I can't even remember all the shit I bought because my friends were into the same stuff in middle school/high school.

I don't know about you, but the whole "my parents did shit to me I disliked for my own good" didn't make sense until I was at least 18. It's better to let them know what they are playing is just from a genre perspective terrible than it is to make it taboo.

FYI, I played Conkers bad fur day and watched the first south park movie (basically adult only content) when I was 10-12. I didn't even understand half the references, listened to system of a down and other goth/rebel music for half of middle school etc and aside from my periods of weird clothing/music/tastes I'd say I turned out fine. Gaming had a 0.0001% influence on my life, in terms of negative effects. I've gained a ton of skills from just multiplayer FPS shooters alone that apply directly into life (team management, server administration, communications skills, etc). If you really care about your kid, etc then just make sure who they are hanging around aren't insane dipshits. You can trust your kid, but understand that people can be persuaded or convinced they like something from pretty much any social situation. I've seen completely book-smart kids do things that they know are wrong, yet the social factor is like pre-alcohol lubricating the situation further.
 
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