Apple Arcade can get lots of games on tap for many an Apple device, including an iPhone and iPad, but what titles are good for kids? We’ve tested and found ten.
If your kids have an Apple Arcade subscription because it just made sense, or you have an Apple One Premier account for your family and now happen to have Apple Arcade for them as well, you might be browsing through the hundreds of games on Apple Arcade and thinking to yourself “which one”.
Games can be played by kids and adults of any age, but some are clearly better focused on the under 8s more than others. Whether they’re just beginning to read and even just beginning to game, this list of apps and games is entirely free to play as long as you have an Apple Arcade account to share it with.
Worth noting that while Apple Arcade subscriptions have increased in price this year (alongside everything else), a single Apple Arcade subscription is a family account, so you can share one Arcade subscription with up to five more people (for six in total). There’s also a trial period, so if you’re looking for something fun for the kids, testing out Apple Arcade can make all the difference.
Now there’s just the matter of sorting through the list of apps and working out “which one” for your kids. Fortunately, Ms 6 has been helping out with Pickr’s review program recently, and so we’ve had her help us out with the best of the best games on Apple Arcade for kids under 8, and possibly under 10 and 12, too.
1. Crayola Create and Play
And that starts with the app and game she spends most of her time in: Crayola Create and Play+.
Truth be told, we don’t let Ms 6 spend a lot of time using the iPad, but when she’s finished with her homework and extra reading, the first app she wants to jump into with regularity is Crayola’s digital colouring and drawing app, which is more than just a mere set of colouring pages.
There are extra activities to look in via a digital world of colouring, plus videos that can help teach your kids how to draw things, something Ms 6 loves spending time watching so she can practice herself.
Crayola Create and Play+ is more than just a simple colouring app, and an absolute joy for kids to use. And there’s no extra purchases needed on Apple Arcade, with plenty of activities to keep them entertained.
2. Fruit Ninja Classic+
A classic title and an Aussie game, too, Fruit Ninja is known the world over for its fun and simplicity, and it’s also available on Apple Arcade, as well.
The plus next to its name basically means it has all of the downloadable extra content, extra levels, and extra anything its developers could have possibly intended, while the regular release on the App Store is one you’d have to pay for.
And it’s number two on our list because when the little ones want something easy and fun to play that is completely harmless, they’ll turn to this one.
3. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
When we hit up the TV, Ms 6 has a favourite she likes to check out: Alba – A Wildlife Adventure.
An adventure game where you control a young girl helping to save wildlife on her island, it’s a fun title great with a controller, but it can also be played with a touchscreen, too.
This one may need a parent nearby because it has a few words to read, however. If your kids have started to read, they may be fine, but sit nearby at times, because they may also want to be handy with a controller, or even just need someone to help them take in-game photos of birds.
4. Beyond Blue
Another title worth exploring on a TV, Ms 6 regularly asks for the game that lets her do a deep sea dive and see all the underwater wildlife.
That’s Beyond Blue, an underwater adventure that we’re sure has a point, but doesn’t seem to matter to the little ones, who can just control the action to let them constantly explore the underwater world from dry land.
The kids may need your help to get past some of the early mission tutorial stuff, but once they do, it’s fairly smooth swimming.
5. Lego Duplo World+
Back on dry land, Lego’s Duplo World provides some light building entertainment of sorts, which doesn’t have quite the humour of its Lego adventure games, but still makes for a solid bit of fun for the younger ones.
Most importantly, they’re unlikely to need to bother you, because with minimal text and some simple controls, it’s a game that’ll keep little ones chilled and interested, engaged on the young Lego world.
6. Patterned
A puzzle game for kids (and adults) who love patterns, Patterned provides a calming title that makes it fun and relaxing to find where blocks of a pattern go inside some nice art.
It’s one of those challenging yet semi-relaxing titles, arriving with a chilled out soundtrack that’ll keep some people hooked longer than others, and is about as inoffensive as a game could possibly get.
7. Horizon Chase 2
We wouldn’t get through the list without a racing game, and Horizon Chase 2 offers the type of racing game that’s no-nonsense and easy to get into.
While some other racing games are all about actual driving simulations and braking at the right time, Horizon Chase 2 echoes the sort of vibe you might expect from the classic Sega arcade racer Outrun, and while it’s not quite the same, it’s still a lot of fun.
8. Sonic Dream Team
An action adventure game with Sonic, this one is an easy win, because who doesn’t like Sonic?
A fast-paced 3D Sonic adventure game where you can play as one of six characters including Sonic, it’s a title made for a controller, but it can work on the tablets and phones, too, and provides a console-like experience with some fun-packed levels.
9. Jigsaw Puzzle+
With a name like “Jigsaw Puzzle”, you can probably guess exactly what this game is, and yep, it’s exactly that.
Ms 6 is really into puzzles, and she’s also a fan of this game because it provides a digital puzzle experience of lots of different puzzlers and lots of different pictures.
10. Disney Colouring World+
We started this list with what is arguably the best colouring-in app for kids, and we’ll end it with the second best option: a clone from Disney.
Yes, you can expect to find Disney characters and scenes in this Disney version of the same, something kids are sure to love, and like how Crayola’s app offers more than just digital colouring pages, and so does Disney’s, giving you just that little bit more of an interactive landscape and journey. We think Crayola has a better app experience all the same, but the Disney one has extra Disney-ness, and that counts for a lot with kids.
