Free games for children

There are many online games, indeed many, but finding someone suitable for children can be difficult, especially if you are not very familiar with the hi-tech world. This is why many specialized websites have been created, both Italian and international, with video games specifically designed for children. Among the games available on these sites, there are purely playful titles, such as puzzle games, platformers and sports games featuring characters from famous cartoons, and pastimes with educational purposes that can help children learn concepts related to grammar, mathematics and other school subjects.

How do you say? Would you like to know any of these sites, so as to propose them to your children or grandchildren? No problem, just ask. Here is a list with some of the best sites with free games for children on the Italian and international scene. In the last part of the guide, then, we will also see some video games for the little ones that can be installed directly on smartphones and tablets.

I recommend, however, to avoid that your children exaggerate with electronic games: a nice run outdoors made with friends – as far as I’m concerned – is still preferable to any video game, even if educational. Now I would say not to waste any more time and to see together which are the best games for children available online or to download on smartphones and tablets. I wish you good reading and, above all, have fun!

Index

• Free online games for kids
• Free games for children to download

Free online games for kids

Let’s start this discussion by taking into consideration some free games for children available online , on some of the most famous playful websites for children.

GamesPer.com

One of the first sites that I recommend you add to your favorites is MyGames.com , which offers a wide selection of free games for children divided by gender and – very interesting factor – by target age groups. Requires the use of Adobe Flash Player .

To find a game suitable for your children, connect to its main page and select one of the available genres ( Action , Racing , Sports , Skill , Spaceships , Puzzles , Memory , Connect the dots , etc.). As you can see, on the page of the selected category there is a list of all the games available, with previews of the latter and some icons that serve to indicate the type of audience to which they are addressed. This means that if, for example, on the image of a game you find the icons 7+ , 12+ and 16+ the game is not suitable for children under 7.

Following this criterion, you can filter all the titles present on GiochiPer using the buttons at the top ( 3+ , 7+ , 12+ and 16+ ), next to the words Filter games . To start the games, however, just click on their preview image.

Baby-Flash

Baby-Flash is one of the best Italian sites dedicated to educational games, which hosts many online pastimes thanks to which children can improve their knowledge of subjects such as mathematics, Italian, geography and geometry. Requires the use of Adobe Flash Player .

To use it, just connect to its home page and select one of the categories in blue listed in the left sidebar: Italian , Mathematics , Geometry , Geography , Exercises for the little ones  and so on. There are even printable content available to let the little ones exercise away from the computer and interactive fairy tales to read directly online. What more could you ask for?

Once you have selected one of the categories above, just click on the thumbnail of the game to be played and it starts almost instantaneously (they are all based on Flash technology, so they are loaded directly into the browser).

Game.it

Gioco.it is one of the most popular sites with Flash games. Unlike the portals that I have listed in the previous lines, it is not specifically aimed at children, but I decided to point it out to you because it integrates a section dedicated entirely to younger users. Requires the use of Adobe Flash Player .

To use it, then, connect to its  section dedicated to children and sort the games according to the most popular or most appreciated ones by pressing the Most popular , Most popular , Recently added or Most rated buttons located in the center of the page, or on the numbers. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , etc., in order to manually scroll the pages containing the games for children.

After identifying a game that can be right for you (or rather, children who have to play), move the mouse cursor over its preview, press the blue PLAY button  that appears on the screen and wait for the game to load. Easier than that ?!

Free games for children to download

To conclude, here is a roundup of free games for children to install on smartphones, tablets and computers: there are really something for everyone, so it will be up to you to choose the ones that best suit your children.

GCompris (Windows / macOS / Linux / Android / iOS)

If you are looking for more complete games than those available online, try downloading GCompris , a collection of educational video games aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 10. It is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux,  Android  and iOS . Most of the games are free, but some are available upon payment of a small cash donation (which contributes to software development).

To download GCompris on your Windows PC , connected to its official website , press the Download GCompris Windows  button on the left and, on the page that opens, press the link GCompris 0.91-Windows 64bit  or  GCompris 0.91-Windows 32bit  (depending on of the version of Windows installed on your computer) to start downloading the program installation file. Once the download is complete, open the .exe file   you obtained and press the Yes , Next , Accept , Next ,  Install and Finish buttons in sequence to conclude the setup.

I point out that on PCs equipped with Windows 10 it is possible to download GCompris directly from the Microsoft Store , at a price of 9.99 euros. If you use a Mac , on the other hand, you can download GCompris directly from the Mac App Store : connected, then, to this page , press the View button in the Mac App Store and then (once the MAS is open), press the Get / Install button to download the application on your computer. To confirm the operation, you may be asked to type your Apple ID password or use Touch ID (if you have a Mac with a fingerprint sensor).

After downloading GCompris, select one of the game categories listed above (represented by the various animals), click on the game title to start and entertain your child. Almost all the games are localized in Italian, including the sound part, which is useful, for example, to learn the exact pronunciation of letters and words. Games marked with a lock are only available in the full version of the application.

Other free games for children to download on smartphones and tablets

There are many other children’s games that deserve to be considered. Here is a rundown of those to download on smartphones and tablets .

• Clementoni Games– Clementoni, a well-known manufacturer of educational toys, has landed in the world of apps with some educational games for Android and iOS, all characterized by colorful and cartoony graphics.
  • Captain Lupetto– 25 educational mini-games for learning shapes and colors for children aged between 3 and 5 years. It costs 2.99 euros on Android and 3.49 euros on iOS , but a free trial is available on both platforms that includes some games.
  • La Fantafattoria– collection of mini-games for children aged 3 to 5 focused on learning the shapes, colors and names of animals. It’s free on both Android and iOS .
  • FantaSea– mini-games for learning letters, numbers and simple mathematical operations for children aged 6 to 8. It’s free on both Android and iOS .
• romeLab– it is a software house specialized in the development of educational games for Android. Browse its gallery on the Google Play Store and you will find dozens of free titles focused on learning the alphabet, numbers and other school subjects (almost all free, albeit with ads).
• Learn Italian– educational application to learn over 6,000 terms in Italian, with their relative pronunciations. Free for Android and iOS .
• ABC Alfabeto Magnetico– nice app that allows children to learn to write by completing a few words (in Italian) on a virtual magnetic board. You can download it for free on Android and iOS but to unlock all the contents you need to make in-app purchases starting from € 1.09.
• Vitamini– this is an educational game that educates children about proper nutrition and allows them to discover the benefits of fruit and vegetables on the body. It is available for free on  iOS .

Of course, you can find many other applications dedicated to children both on the Google Play Store (Android) and on the App Store (iPhone / iPad). Before downloading them – please – read carefully the comments of other users and make sure they are suitable for the age of your child.