Children's Games

This is where the little ones play. The kids games in this section are built for short sessions, simple controls and characters children already know, like Mario, SpongeBob, Sonic and the ponies from My Little Pony. There are more than 1,100 of them, and every one opens straight in your browser: nothing to download, no account to create.

What's in each section

Coloring is the easiest place to start: pictures to fill in with the mouse or a finger, from Mario Coloring Book to dinosaurs, horses and cars. Drawing is for creating from scratch, with pixel art, mandalas and graffiti makers, plus simple ones like Draw a Pig. Kids Puzzle brings together jigsaws, memory matching and spot the difference, with animals, unicorns and cartoon characters.

Math and Word are the most school-like. Kids count and solve simple sums with games like Math Duck or MathPup Math Adventure, and play with letters and words in hangman games such as Hangaroo and Super Mario Hangman, or in Text Twist 2. Music has virtual pianos, drums and guitars, like Virtual Drums and Real Piano Online. And Kids is the mixed bag: fishing games, SpongeBob games and a day at the airport with Dr. Panda.

A rough guide by age

There's no hard rule, but this helps. The youngest players do well with coloring and memory matching, where there's no timer and nobody loses. Once they're comfortable with a mouse or a touchscreen, jigsaws and spot the difference are the next step. Word, number and music games usually click once they've started reading and counting. One thing to watch: the Math section also has a few games meant for grown-ups, such as Math Games For Adults, so take a quick look first.

One game to try in each section

Not sure where to begin? These are easy to pick up: Mario Coloring Book or Toddler Coloring Game for coloring, Super Mario Jigsaw Puzzle or Sonic Jigsaw for puzzles, Cute Unicorn Memory for matching pairs, Virtual Drums for making noise in the best way, and Math Duck for a first go at numbers. Try one from each and you'll soon see what your child keeps coming back to.

Most games are over in a few minutes, which makes limits easier: agree up front on how many rounds before stopping. And if they want to play the same one again and again, that's fine. Coloring the same picture in new colors or redoing a puzzle they already know is still good practice with the mouse or the screen.

Tips for playing with young children

The first time, sit with them for a bit. Coloring games take a minute to learn, but someone has to show where the brush, the colors and the eraser are. Many kids find it easier to paint with a finger on a tablet than with a mouse. And while every game is free, the site does show ads, so it's a good idea to stay close while the little ones play.