My 4 1/2 year old seems to be doing well on the computer. He can type his name and all that, handles the mouse pretty well (click & drag stuff), and seems to have no problem with icons. This is not to say he surfs the net or anything. His PC experience is limited to games like Blues Clues Art, Zaboomafoo, Playhouse Disney, Thinking Things Math & Reading, etc.
He is also nuts about animals.
It was suggested that I get him Zoo Tycoon. My brother in law has Rollercoaster Tycoon, so I am familiar with the premise. Looking at the site, I’m kind of sure he can handle it, and I think we’d have some fun playing it together. My question is, do you think it’s too advanced for him to play by himself? Sometimes he likes to use the computer on his own, so he can feel like a big boy, I suppose.
I’d hate to drop $25-30 on a PC game that he’ll use once and then not like because it’s too hard. Any Doper-parent thoughts or experiences?
My kids, 6 and 5, love Zoo Tycoon. They’ve been playing it for awhile now and have never had any problems with the game. If they clean their room they are allowed to play games for an hour, they always choose Zoo Tycoon. They had about the same beginning, the kid games at first then on to the advanced games, they never had a problem after the first time I explained the game to them. Good luck and watch out, it’s fun for adults too
It requires a fair bit of reading and some conception of money… but my 8 year old has been playing it for about 3 years now. At first I had to read for him and help him understand he had to MAKE money to be able to buy more animals but he does great on it now. The expansion packs are a dinosaur zoo and a marine zoo. And they are all loads of fun, especially if the T-rex gets loose
Go for it. Its a fun game for BOTH kids and adults. Even my 26 yr old plays it!
I was going to say that a 4 year old would not understand how to play it because you have to keep your animals healthy and keep profits up for your zoo and that it is more of a thinking game and a 4 almost 5 year old would get bored with it after placing a few trees around. It also requires a lot of reading because important messages appear on the screen about once every minute if not more…but if 6 and 5 year olds have been playing it for a long time then I guess I am dead wrong and I also always thought of it as a teen and adult game but boy was I wrong. Anyway I still love that game and I bet you will like it more than your 4.5 year old.
I think with a little time and patience he can be taught how to play the game. It really can be fun for both kids and adults. I love the game.
If you do buy it purchase the Complete Collection. It has Zoo Tycoon and the two expansion packs, plus a few things that don’t come with the original or the two expansions.
There is a free form map he can use designed especially for children. The player starts out with $500,000 and when the money runs out, or gets close, the amount goes back up to $500,000. This enables you to teach him to play then later teach him about the need to make money in order to purchase more animals and objects.
There are also cheat codes that allow you to do fun things with the game and can unlock animals, such as unicorns.
You can also download user made animals, buildings and objects. There are many fansites dedicated to keeping your animals happy and what animals will be happy in combined exhibits.
