Best Games for 7 Year Olds: Top Picks for Fun and Learning

Online games are much more than just a source of entertainment - especially for young children! They can be powerful educational resources and, when played together, they can provide excellent opportunities for quality, bonding time. Plus, games of different natures can help your little ones explore different skills, creativity, and imagination.

In this guide, we’ll explore all you need to know about using online games for educational purposes, and we’ll equip you with practical tips and game suggestions adequate for your 7 years old. Let’s get started!

The Educational Benefits of Online Games for 7 Year Olds

When it comes to teaching essential life skills to your little ones, there’s a lot that can be achieved outside of school, homework, or homeschooling. Well-selected online games can be a fantastic choice to help your children explore their imagination, learn the ropes of STEM, and begin to have an understanding of the world.

Some of the key benefits of using games for educational purposes include:

• Improved Problem-Solving Skills: some of the best games for children require them to think in a critical way to overcome obstacles and challenges.
• Enhanced Memory: Many games, especially memory games, involve remembering patterns, sequences, or the locations of certain items, which can help children strengthen their memory.
• Encouraged Creativity: Games that involve building, customizing, or creating stories can help nurture your little one’s imagination.
• Promoted Social Skills: Multiplayer games are a great way to teach kids teamwork, communication, and empathy.
• Help Strengthen Academic Notions: Some educational games focus on subjects like math, reading, and science, which can help improve the notions and concepts learned in school.

5 Fun and Engaging Game Options

Now that you have an understanding of the benefits of using games for educational purposes, let’s have a look at some of the best ones to play with your little one. We’ll start with some of the classic games available out there, which are fun, engaging, and easily accessible options. These include:

Mahjong

Mahjong is a classic tile-matching game originating from China. In the game players aim to match tiles in pairs, so that they can be cleared from the board. The aim of the game is to clear all tiles. However, platforms like Mahjong 247 offer a wide range of tile styles and board options with different features and bonuses.

This game is an excellent way to familiarize kids to the rich traditions of Chinese culture, while also improving their pattern recognition and memory skills.

Minecraft

Minecraft is possibly one of the most popular games for children and adults alike. This game is fairly simple and straightforward, with a basic graphic, but it opens up a world of possibilities.

This game lets children immerse themselves in a blocky, 3D world, where they can build anything from simple huts to elaborate castles. Here, truly their imagination is the limit!

Beyond improving creativity, spatial awareness, and problem-solving skills, this game has been appreciated for helping little ones learn critical STEM skills - which is essential especially in early education!

Scratch

Scratch is a visual programming language created by MIT. The entire platform is designed for young learners, allowing kids to create interactive stories, games, and animations. Playing this game, children learn how to bring together codes of blocks, gaining a foundational understanding of coding and programming. Whether your children will opt for a career in IT or not, these skills are critical to understand today’s digital age and navigate tomorrow’s job market.

Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing allows children to build and manage their own virtual communities on islands. In the game, players carry out various activities like fishing, gardening, and interacting with the locals.

This game, thanks to its gameplay, storyline, features, and design, is an excellent option to promote social skills, responsibilities, and organizational abilities.

Mario Kart

Mario Kart is one of the best-known and most-loved games across multiple generations. And, it has never lost its charm! In this fast-paced game, players compete on tracks and collect various items along the way. And, it’s all about getting to the next level and beating your personal record!

Besides being a lot of fun for kids and adults alike, Mario Kart trains hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and strategic thinking!

3 Top Picks for Skill Development

Above, we’ve looked at some of the most famous games for 7 years old for both fun and educational purposes. However, some specific games can also be used to develop certain skills, such as academic notions and soft skills. Let’s look at some of the best ones on the market today below:

• Prodigy Math Game. This is an educational role-playing game (RPG), where players need to solve math problems to advance in the game. It is perfect to boost your kid’s math abilities while gamifying this subject. Plus, thanks to different, progressive levels, this game will tailor questions to each child's level, ensuring they are neither too easy nor too challenging!
• ABCmouse. ABCmouse, also known as Early Learning Academy, is a comprehensive platform that provides a well-rounded, game-based learning experience for children. The various games cover anything from reading, math, and science to music and art. It is recommended for children aged 2 to 8, but anyone can access the myriad of puzzles, games, books, and songs available!
• Genius Starter Kit. This kit combines physical pieces with digital gameplay to teach various skills. It works by connecting an iPad to specially designed game pieces that allow the kids to interact with on-screen puzzles, challenges, and games. The games cover subjects like math, spelling, and drawing, gamifying critical academic subjects to improve learning and retention!

3 Popular Classic Games Online Suitable for 7 Years Olds

The games listed above are specifically designed to provide educational resources. For example, Mahjong is a great option to boost memory and retention skills, while the goal of ABCmouse is to gamify school notions. But what about the classic online games we’ve all loved for decades? You may not have looked at them in this light before, but they all can be used as educational resources. Let’s look at a few examples below:

• Pac-Man. Pac-Man is a timeless arcade game that requires players to navigate a maze, consuming dots while avoiding ghosts. It’s simple and yet challenging, and it can be used to improve reflexes, quick decision-making, and pattern recognition.
• Tetris. Tetris involves fitting falling shapes into a well to clear complete lines and prevent overflow. Among the many benefits of this game - such as providing hours of fun! - it has also been seen to help develop spatial reasoning!
• Sudoku. Sudoku is a number puzzle game that challenges players to fill a 9x9 grid so each column, row, and 3x3 section contain all digits from 1 to 9. This game is an excellent and very accessible option to sharpen logical thinking, concentration, and numerical skills.

How Games Encourage Interactive Learning Through Play

Playing educational games can provide both you and your little ones with important resources for interactive learning. In fact, over the past decades, the scientific community has proven how every person has different ways to learn, retain, and use information. So these games can represent a better option for your children to learn important notions compared to standard academic strategies.

For example, math-based games might involve solving puzzles or competing in challenges that require quick calculations, keeping your little ones engaged as they learn.

Age-Appropriate Game Recommendations

When playing games online it is important to know how to keep yourself and your child safe and shielded from inadequate content. A few key strategies to do so include:

• Consider closely managing parental controls and Safe Search settings on digital devices.
• Choose a game together, and vet different options in advance to ensure they are suitable.
• Look for reviews from other parents, as well as certifications that a certain game is suitable for a specific age range.
• Look for games that adapt to your child’s level, offering incremental challenges that build confidence and proficiency.
• Focus on games that incorporate basic math, reading, and problem-solving skills, but don’t overlook the wishes or inclinations of your 7 year old!

How Online Games Enhance Cognitive Abilities

As we have seen above, online games can do a lot to help your little one cultivate their cognitive abilities. Some of the skills they can gain through online games include:

• Foresight
• Critical and lateral thinking
• Memory and information retention
• Problem solving
• Resource management
• Hand-eye coordination
• Quick reflexes
• Spatial awareness
• Attention to detail

Social Interaction Through Gaming: What Parents Need To Know

Multiplayer and role play games are excellent options to teach your children about the importance of collaboration and teamwork. Through these games, they can also learn critical skills, such as delegation, offering constructive feedback, and developing trust in relationships. These are all critical skills that they will need to make the most of their development and academic years, build relationships and friendships, and excel in the workplace.

Exploring New Games Together

In this guide, we’ve covered everything you need to know about using gameplay as an educational resource. Now, all that’s left to do is for you and your 7 years old to choose an engaging game to get started with. Be sure to make yourself available and dedicate time to playing together for an even more educational and bonding experience.

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.