GAMING doesn’t need to break the bank – or even cost a penny. Keep the kids entertained this summer with loads of free titles you’ve already got access to.
You’ll find that there are plenty of hidden games wrapped into Netflix, Amazon and even Sky telly. Your mobiles and gadgets have loads of great options for kids (and adults) too. And there’s even a clever way to play console games like Fortnite on the TV without owning a console.
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FREE GAMES #1 – NETFLIX
If you’re paying for Netflix on any level of plan, you’ll get a load of free games to enjoy.
This is true even if you’re getting Netflix for free as part of your Sky TV package.
The easiest way to find them is to go to the main Netflix screen, and look for the Games tab at the top of the screen.
Just note that not all devices support Netflix games. If you’re using an Apple TV streaming box for instance, you won’t be able to see them.
But I tried it with an Amazon Fire TV Stick and it was right there at the top.
A load of games should surface, each with a listed genre, description, and an age rating. Some of them are even multiplayer, so you can play together.
Typically, you’ll click play on a game, and then use your smartphone as a controller. You’ll be guided through it – it only took me a few seconds to get set up. It’s as simple as scanning a QR code.
Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is meant for kids aged 10 and older, and is a fun adventure game where you help ghostly bears find peace.
A slightly more mature option for children aged 13 and older is Oxenfree. It’s a supernatural thriller about pals who accidentally open a ghostly rift. It’s all very Stranger Things, and is well-reviewed on other platforms.
For more Arcade-style gameplay that gamers aged seven and up can enjoy, just try Centipede Recharged, Caverns of Mars Recharged, or Rocket.
You don’t need a telly either.
There are lots of games that your Netflix membership will unlock on your phone, too.
Just go into the Netflix app on your mobile, navigate to the Games section, and they’ll re-route you to your App Store to claim premium titles without paying the usual prices.
But getting them on the big screen is definitely more fun, and works really well.
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FREE GAMES #2 – AMAZON
If you’re paying for Amazon Prime (and millions of Brits are!) there are two free gaming perks you’ll want to know about.
The first is that you get a monthly selection of free games to download.
This list is available through the Prime Gaming website here, and refreshes every month with new titles.
The monthly games are released as batches each Thursday, so there’s always something new to play. They can be worth hundreds of pounds each month.
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Usually the games are PC, but sometimes they’ll be for consoles or mobile, too.
It’ll be a different bunch of games every month, so you’ll need to click Free Games at the top and then see what’s on the list.
Claim them before they vanish and then they’re yours forever.
Each game will show a rating, so you can easily tell what’s appropriate for your child or not.
It’s very likely that you’ll find several child-friendly titles on the list each month.
A better option if you don’t have a gaming PC or console is Amazon Luna.
This is like a “Netflix for games” that streams titles to you over the internet – meaning you don’t need a physical Xbox or PlayStation.
All you need is a joypad that can connect to your Fire TV, Fire Stick, or Samsung or LG telly. Amazon sells a Luna controller for £60, which I’ve tried and really liked – but an old Xbox or PlayStation joypad will work just the same.
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Then just go to download the Luna app on your telly or streaming stick. It’s free to install.
Now normally you’d pay £8.99 a month to unlock the full library of Luna games.
But if you have Amazon Prime, you can enjoy a selection of titles even without a Luna membership.
That includes smash-hit shooter Fortnite, a cartoonish rival to the likes of Call of Duty that is a big hit with teens. In the UK, it’s rated for kids aged 12 and older.
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Fortnite is endlessly replayable, receives constant updates, and even hosts live music events with past stars including Travis Scott and Ariana Grande.
Normally you’d need an expensive console to enjoy, but Amazon Luna will let you do it for free with Amazon Prime (or for £9 a month if you want the full roster of games).
As a bonus trick, see if you’re eligible for an Amazon Prime discount.
Higher-education students or anyone aged 18-22 years old in the UK can claim Prime for half price (plus an extended six-month free trial).
TRY XBOX CLOUD GAMING TOO!
There’s a savvy option for dodging console cost, writes The Sun’s tech editor Sean Keach…
Buying a console is expensive. It might cost you north of £400 or £500 (or even £700 for the new PS5 Pro).
A cheaper option is to try cloud gaming.
Instead of owning a physical console, you simply sign up to an app and “stream” the games from an online library. It’s a bit like Netflix.
This was previously impossible. We used to need consoles to render the gaming visuals. But internet speeds are now so fast that they can be beamed straight to your TV, phone or laptop.
One option is Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is included as part of the £14.99-a-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
It’ll get you hundreds of top games that you’d normally need an Xbox for. All you need is decent internet, a game controller, and a screen. The app is available on loads of TVs, Fire Sticks, and via web browsers.
Of course, you can also stick with Amazon Luna, which is much the same. This has a slightly smaller selection of games, but only costs £8.99 a month for Luna+.
The big perk here is that if you already have Amazon Prime, there’s a small selection of games you can play for free. That includes smash-hit shooter Fortnite.
Picture Credit: Xbox
FREE GAMES #3 – SKY TV
If you’ve got Sky TV, you can access a load of free kid-friendly games very easily.
They’re available through the Play.Works app, which you should be able to find on the apps rail.
If you can’t see it, just ask for it using your voice by hitting the microphone button on your Sky remote.
The icon might say “Games by Play.Works” for you.
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Once you click it, you’ll be transported to a special gaming hub full of fun titles for you to enjoy on the telly. They’re all free, so don’t stress about surprise payments. You will have to sit through some ads though.
An obvious choice is Pac-Man, which is as fun today as it was in the 1980s. Tetris is on there too. I struggled to get off it and write this article.
You play with the Sky remote, so there’s no need to buy extra gear.
This is also a bonus for kid-friendly gameplay, because it means most of the games have very simple controls.
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SpongeBob Bounce is a great child-friendly option for fans of SpongeBob Squarepants – and it’s easy to pick up.
You can also find Sky games by going to the dedicated Games section in the Apps panel.
There should be a Sky Kids rail that only shows child-friendly titles.
Parents might like it too: you’ve probably watched enough to have a good go at Peppa Pig Quiz, by Nick Jr.
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FREE GAMES #4 – IPHONE, IPAD & ANDROID
If your child has their own phone or tablet – or can borrow yours – then you’re in luck.
Mobile platforms are absolutely brimming with gaming freebies.
The problem is that it can be a nightmare to find titles that are actually decent and child-friendly.
What you want to download depends on the age of your youngster.
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Earlier this year, I revealed five free mobile games that you can easily play for hundreds of hours. These are the best options for teens.
Top of my list was Wild Rift, which is a battle arena game spun off from hit PC title League of Legends.
This game has a 12+ rating, and usually involves online multiplayer (although you can totally silence online chatting).
Second was Polytopia, which is a strategy game where you try to take over a colourful map by building a civilisation and conquering your enemies.
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It has a 9+ rating on the iOS App Store, and is listed as having “infrequent cartoon or fantasy violence”. It’s a great game for honing your smarts, and it’s very simple to pick up compared to other strategy games.
APPLE ARCADE COULD BE YOUR SAVIOUR
Here’s an extra tip from The Sun’s tech editor Sean Keach…
Often free games can be a bit rubbish, stuffed full of microtransactions, and littered with ads.
But forking out for every single game to avoid this is also a budgeting nightmare.
Instead, think about trying Apple Arcade.
It’s a £6.99 a month subscription service from Apple that gets you access to over 200 games (with more added all the time).
These games don’t have any ads or in-app purchases, so you can be sure your child won’t accidentally splash £1,000 on virtual coins.
The games aren’t all for kids, but there are some great child-friendly options, with my personal favourites including:
- Sneaky Sasquatch (4+)
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure (4+)
- Crossy Road+ (9+)
- Skate City (9+)
If you turn on Family Sharing, you can also enjoy Apple Arcade on your own device. Up to six family members can share one subscription.
Just head into the Arcade section of the Apple App Store to get started.
It’ll work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.
Picture Credit: Apple
Third on the list is Kingdom Rush, which has a 12+ age rating.
It’s a tower defence game set in a medieval fantasy world where you build up your forces to battle waves of baddies.
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Fourth on the list is Old School RuneScape, which is a whimsical medieval-esque fantasy adventure game.
It’s 12+ on the App Store – but it’s online-only, so you’ll want to go in and set it up so your child can’t speak to strangers. It only takes a few seconds.
And fifth on my list was Hearthstone, which is a brilliant online card game where you collect virtual trading cards to battle with other players.
It has a 12+ rating on iOS App Store, and has the option for closed multiplayer – so you could battle against your kids on it. They can also play against the computer and avoid totally online play.
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If you’re looking for mobile games for even younger children, there are great options too.
One popular option is Lego Duplo World, which has an age rating of 4+ on the App Store.
It’s a colourful app meant for very young kids where you play mini-games and build colourful creations in a child-safe environment.
It’s won a load of awards, has rave reviews on app stores, and it’s very easy for a youngster to pick up.
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Another option that almost needs no introduction is Pokémon Go, which has a 9+ rating on the App Store.
It has an exploration element, where you walk around the real world to collect virtual creatures.
This is a great way to get your kid moving – and you can explore together on long walks to track down rare Pokémon.
For movement at home, you could try Just Dance Now.
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It has a very low age rating of 4+, and has very good reviews online. It’s a dancing game where you can dance to a free song every day. You’ll need to match the dance moves using your phone’s camera to win – so there’s plenty of movement involved.
WHAT DO GAME RATINGS ACTUALLY MEAN?
Here are the official guidelines for PEGI ratings on game boxes…
PEGI 3
- Considered suitable for all age groups
- Should not contain any sounds or pictures that are likely to frighten young children
- A very mild form of violence (in a comical context or a childlike setting) is acceptable
- No bad language should be heard
PEGI 7
- Scenes or sounds that can possibly be frightening to younger children
- Very mild forms of violence (implied, non-detailed, or non-realistic violence)
PEGI 12
- Video games that show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy characters or non-realistic violence towards human-like characters would fall in this age category
- Sexual innuendo or sexual posturing can be present
- Any bad language in this category must be mild
PEGI 16
- Tthe depiction of violence (or sexual activity) reaches a stage that looks the same as would be expected in real life
- The use of bad language in games with a PEGI 16 rating can be more extreme
- Use of tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs can also be present
PEGI 18
- The adult classification is applied when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence, apparently motiveless killing, or violence towards defenceless characters
- The glamorisation of the use of illegal drugs and of the simulation of gambling, and explicit sexual activity should also fall into this age category
And although it’s not quite a game, you can turn the free Merlin app into one.
It’s an app that listens out for birds making noises nearby using your phone’s microphone.
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And it’ll identify the bird almost instantly, keeping track of them for you in a little log.
You can go on lovely walks and turn them into a Pokémon style game where you see how many birds you can “capture” with Merlin. It’ll even flag up when you’ve heard a rare bird. It’s even more fun when you try to spot the bird making the noise.
Then once your child is a natural bird expert, you can see if they can work out the bird behind the song before checking Merlin.
This is very educational, is a great way to get outdoors, and can be used over and over again.
The app is age-rated 4+ on the iOS App Store, so it’s very child-friendly – and easy to use too. And it works great in the garden if you just want to get them outside near home.
Finally, if you want a fun and hidden video game to quickly entertain the kids on a mobile, try Google’s hidden Dinosaur Game.
It’s built into the Google Chrome web browser, and is meant to entertain you when you’ve got no signal.
Stick Airplane Mode on to cut off your Wi-Fi and mobile internet, then try to load a web page up on Google Chrome.
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An error page should appear with a little dinosaur. Tap it and you’ll start playing a hidden infinite runner game. Just tap the screen to make the dinosaur jump to clear obstacles.
See who can get the best high score – and try not to fall out over it.
