We have a PS4 Pro and we just inherited a Nintendo Switch.
I want to start my kid off right. He’s smart, but not very coordinated, and I’m hoping this helps his fine motor.
He’s obsessed with numbers, so bonus points if it’s a game that displays numbers.
I’ve heard Mario Cart is good with accessibility features turned on. What do you think of Katamari Damacy for a little one? I’ve never played anything on Switch.
Do you think it’s too soon for something like Minecraft?
Inform me.
Thanks!
If he likes numbers, I can’t think of a better game than Microsoft Excel.
But seriously, probably recent Nintendo platformers like Yoshi’s Crafted World. They have difficulty modes that that pretty much eliminate any challenge from the game, which is probably what you need. Plus you have coop so someone can carry the other and generally work together.
With the caveat that I don’t know any 3-year-olds, I kind of think you could hand over an unplugged controller and it wouldn’t make a difference.
Maybe the question is what games would the kid like to watch you play?
There’s a lot of variability between kids at that age but I think 3 is probably a bit too young for a two analog stick game like Minecraft. My kids didn’t really get into Minecrafting until around 5, and even then they didn’t really fully grasp what the game is capable of until later.
The good news is the Nintendo Switch has a touch screen, and young kids take to touchscreens with no problem. I know there’s been complaints about the “touchscreen generation” and kids not wanting to move to controllers but I don’t think that bears out. Controllers are better for playing pretty much anything and it doesn’t take long for a kid to realize that.
Jeff Gerstmann, a long-time video game journalist, talks about his daughter sometimes on his podcast. She’s around 3 or 4 and likes playing Mario Kart with the from time to time, but mostly what she seems to like is to see what daddy’s playing and just try it out a bit to satisfy her curiosity. That’s probably what I would expect from a kid that age. They’re more interested in trying a little bit of everything rather than focusing on one thing in particular. The simpler controls of retro 2D games work well here too. The Switch has a nice little retro library built in if you get Nintendo’s online service.
It’s hard to provide specific games because at that age I think a shotgun style approach is better. Show him a bunch of different stuff and see how he reacts. Mario Kart is a good idea, I’d also give Mario Odyssey a shot. You can also try a game like Super Mario Maker 2, which combines old-school Mario with the ability to edit and build the levels. Other good ideas are games like Untitled Goose Game or Goat Simulator, where you can have fun without really understanding what’s going on. The problem with games where numbers are prominent is they generally also require you to understand what those numbers mean, like RPGs and the like.
Long story short, try lots of different things and don’t get discouraged if he doesn’t take to a game you thought he’d like or he only plays for a few minutes and then gives up. He’ll grow into them as he gets older.
I’m thinking go with a hand held game. A DS maybe.
Do they still have those?
The used to have a gazillion educational games. Many for preschoolers.
The first game he sees other kids playing at his new school he’ll want it. I suggest a second mortgage. 
Good luck.
I handed my grandson my switch when he was about 3 just to distract him because he was being fussy. I’m pretty sure I had my Zelda, Breath of the Wild game in the player at the time. He had a natural knack that I still find amazing.
He is a bit obsessed and would play 24/7 if he could. He’s 9 years old now.
You jest, but it would probably blow his mind. This is a boy who will not go to sleep without his calculator. Right now he likes to watch us play Diablo 4 because of the cooldown timers on the hotbar, plus random damage numbers explode everywhere, and that’s like all he needs in the world to be happy.
Thanks I hadn’t heard of that one. I’ll check it out.
Well the cool thing about the Switch is you can either use it as a big-screen console machine or handheld. That’s why they call it the Switch. I’m guessing he’s going to be using it more as a handheld so he’ll leave our phones alone - which is, I admit, part of my intent. He loves to mash buttons and is always getting into my phone apps, so I figured give him something he can mash buttons on to his heart’s content without screwing up my stuff.
I just got my 5 year old this:
Do you have the online account? That gives you access to a lot of emulator games and many of those are fairly simple.
Tetris might be a good one as well, Simple to explain and play with only minor co-ordination needed to make a bit of progress.
Oh, I don’t know the names of the new things.
Grandkids have thingys they haul around punching on and looking at.
The oldest 2 have phones as well. It’s amazing the devices, around here.
You know what game has a ton of numbers popping up everywhere and co-op and costs like $3? Vampire Survivors. Switch version just came out too.
My husband already has that one on his radar! I was skeptical he’d be able to get into a bullet hell game (I hate them, personally) but hey we’ll try it and see!
Meh. It’s never been as good since they nerfed that Pivot Table boss.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (Great game, bad name, but 100% SFW) on PS4 is fun, dirt cheap, and will definitely help his coordination. It’s a little too hard for a 3 year old to play alone but he’ll have fun if you play together (e.g. you can control the ship and have him be your gunner or vice versa).
Is kiddo creative and reading yet? Animal Crossing.
I think if you want to “start your kid off right”, I would avoid putting screens in front of them as long as possible and use Lego or some other building toy for hand-eye coordination.
That said, the first videogame my kids (now age 9 and 6) discovered a few years back was Lego City Undercover. It’s an open world sandbox driving / exploring game, sort of like a child friendly Grand Theft Auto.
Peggle might be fun. Kind-of an advanced “breakout/pachinko” game (kinda).
I doubt a three year-old will play it well but that’s fine. I’d think they’d enjoy the sights and sounds even if they cannot grasp strategies and goals to “win”. Dead easy to play (aim the ball…that’s about it).
I’m 56 and I still play it on occasion for a few minutes of easy fun.
He had no screens for the first two years of his life and we limit his screen time now. He maybe gets 30 minutes of screen time most week days (since he watches math videos while brushing his teeth.) He spends most of his screen time playing on a calculator app. Sometimes on the weekends he watches an hour of Ms. Rachel.
I’m not concerned about using some of that time for video games. Ideally something the whole family will eventually be able to do together.
Just for clarity, this kid has hours a week of OT and PT and we’re constantly, I would even say exhaustively working on his motor coordination. If gaming helps that would be a benefit but this isn’t meant to replace the other work we’re doing.
He’s creative with numbers. He can read quite a few words by sight but something text-heavy might be a bit much for him. He might find the animals cute though. I understand his ability to understand may be limited at his age, but getting him comfortable with the idea and the controls would be good.
He’s a very inquisitive kid and is always pushing buttons to try to figure out how things work. I think it will be a good fit. We’re a gaming family, I’m hoping to share some of the joy.
Is Sudoku too much for him? I’d think so for a three year-old but if he’s some kind of prodigy maybe not (there are easy Sudoku and hard ones).
Might be something here he’d enjoy:
Peggle (linked above) does not require a lot of motor coordination but it does require fine motor coordination as the person needs to “aim” carefully for best results.
I’ll look into it! Probably a little old for him, but I’m sure someday he’ll love it.