When you think of children’s online games, maybe you think of Roblox or Minecraft. Games like these, including Fortnite, have vague age guidelines for their website; although they are mostly 12 and up, it’s well known that much younger players still hop onto these games.
These games have the same goals, whether it’s building, connecting with friends or slaying enemies. A mix of both creativity and peril creates the perfect games for children.
However, online games haven’t always been this way. If we take a look back, even back to when “Tennis for Two” was invented in 1958, games have obviously changed. In today’s day and age, it’s easier than ever for kids to access these games, no matter their age or location.
Roblox and Minecraft are on more contained sites or even have their own applications. But before their popularity, children had websites like “GirlsGoGames”, “ggkids” and “Friv.” These websites, unlike cell phone applications, don’t need a download process or even parental consent to engage with.
Websites like these were all similar, with different names and themes of games. They were completely free to access, usually ran on Flash and were somewhat low quality. Not that they can’t be fun for a child, but a lot of these games were extremely basic. Players could control characters with arrow keys to cook a meal, put makeup on and jump over obstacles.
However, it may not just be this simplicity that turned kids away from these websites. For one, Adobe Flash no longer exists. Flash accounts for why most of these games looked the same. In its time, it was a programming and animation application, similar to Unreal Engine or Blender.
Flash Player stopped being supported in 2020, while Adobe began blocking content from this player in 2021. Its reasoning behind this comes from the idea that programs were maturing, while Flash was not. Adobe advised any users of the program to delete it from their computers.
If you grew up with CoolMathGames, you may remember Flash ending. But CoolMathGames was one of the luckier sites. Not only had they already been changing their focus to HTML5 games, but they were able to use an emulator program named Ruffle to continue to run these games on anybody’s browser.
Websites like GirlsGoGames don’t have any explanations for their waning popularity. Although this website is still up, its quality compared to today’s games is questionable. There’s no definitive answer on when this website was put up, but it’s safe to say it’s been at least a decade, and they’re still going. They’ve kept with their same themes, housing beauty and dress up games, “Baby Hazel” games and lots of Disney-themed games, like Queen Elsa from “Frozen” getting a makeover.
Spil Games, the creator of GirlsGoGames, was bought out by Azerion in 2020. Azerion is a Netherlands-based company, founded in 2013, focused on digital solutions. Even with this change in management, there’s been no noticeable change to the website. Though they’ve begun to adhere to modern-day trends, the ideas stay the same. Quick, easy games that don’t take much effort to play.
Perhaps the loss of traffic on websites like these comes from the fact that, at their heart, these websites aren’t social. Children and teenagers, now more than ever, crave these social connections through screens. Research shared by Carol Vidal and Jennifer Margaret Katzenstein of Johns Hopkins University suggests that around 40% of children (aged 8-12) use social media. This profound usage can lead to social isolation. Still, adolescents turn to it.
Most of these older online games also do not allow players to explore further than what’s intended in the game. But if we look at Minecraft, an open-world sandbox, there are more opportunities than just mining. You can build, enchant objects and fight monsters when the sun goes down. Along with this, you can create worlds to share with your friends.
There’s also the issue of advertisements. Children aren’t as versed in online safety and media literacy as adults. All of these sites are filled to the brim with advertisements. And although it’s still a question of whether or not some of these advertisements are appropriate to be shown to children, other issues arise.
The University of California, Davis, published an article about how ads can affect children, last updated in 2020. Not only can some of these advertisements plummet a child’s self-esteem, but they can also expose them to alcohol, marijuana and unhealthy food. And, on top of it all, advertisements can push inappropriate photos or messaging to kids and even include malware if accidentally (or intentionally) tapped.
Advertisements on some of these websites have also shown signs of location-based advertisements. In 2022, multiple schools found these safety issues and referred students to play on a site called “CoolMath4Kids” until the issues were resolved. It’s up for debate if websites like this are “safe," but it’s important to have some awareness.
There’s no set reason that children’s games like this are disappearing. As time goes on, interests change. We become more educated on online safety, determining what websites seem legit and which ones don’t. We crave more than what these entry-level games can offer us. What was entertaining in 2010 probably doesn’t sit on the same pedestal as something deemed entertaining today.
