Mom games

Kenshindono

Kenshindono

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My mother LOVES Plants VS Zombies. I put it on her computer kinda as a joke so she could improve her mouse skills. I figured moving it around to set the plants and stuff would improve them. Shes one of those typical tecnno-retart parents. She seriously had issues clicking links and moving the mouse around the screen.

It actually helped, shes pretty proficient with a mouse. Still knows nothing about computers and doesn't even really understand how webpages work, but she can click links fine now =D I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for other games i could get her. She loves PvZ but has played it to death. Beaten the game and put hours and hours into the extra modes. It has to be VERY simple and i dont think things on the consoles would work. I tried having her play Walking Dead, but she couldn't handle the QTE's. Anyone have any other suggestions? Someone else suggested a tower defense game that i cant remember the name of... little robots or something?
 
Some basic stuff: Peggle, Bejeweled, Everyday Genius: SquareLogic, maaaaaybe Puzzle Quest?

If you're looking for adventure games: Machinarium is quite simple and enjoyable. The art is delightful, too.
 
Forget Bejeweled and get her Jewel Quest 2 instead. The multiplayer mode in Jewel Quest 2 will keep her busy for a LONG time.
 
[quote name='Kenshindono']My mother LOVES Plants VS Zombies. I put it on her computer kinda as a joke so she could improve her mouse skills.[/QUOTE]
I had to laugh at this. I could never get my parents to play something like that. My parents are "technically challenged" as well, but they found solitaire on their own and that actually helped with their mouse skills.

As for a suggestion, I'd just look at what she reads and watches then try to find a game that ties into her interests.
 
Serious suggestions because I like casual games (and have played sooo much PvZ):

- Look at PC ports of popular mobile games. A lot of these are casual games to begin with and have simple controls. If she likes PvZ, she may enjoy 10000000, which is one of my recent favorites: it's a puzzle game with some simple RPG elements. I think it might be a little more difficult than PvZ, however.

- Your Doodles are Bugged! is another favorite casual game of mine. The basic concept is similar to Lemmings, but without the specialized "jobs"-- all you have to do is draw lines. It's cute and more fun than I expected.

- Recently I beat the puzzle game Critter Crunch. Like PvZ, it introduces new elements one step at a time and has multiple gameplay modes. Also like PvZ, it has a rather offbeat theme. The gameplay is not as dependent on the mouse (though the controls are still very simple), so this may or may not work out...

- Oh, and how could I forget Audiosurf?! Levels generated by your own music with multiple difficulty modes, plus it's played entirely with the mouse. One of my favorite casual games of all time.

All of these games are on Steam, and many other casual games besides. It might not be a bad idea to set her up with a Steam account, and if you put shortcuts for the games on her desktop or whereever, and have the system remember her password, she shouldn't have to deal with the Steam UI all that often.

[quote name='midlifecrisisMkII']As for a suggestion, I'd just look at what she reads and watches then try to find a game that ties into her interests.[/QUOTE]
This is another good suggestion, and one I recommend everyone follow when wanting to get someone who doesn't normally play games more into them. It seems like you're already taking this into account, though, if you had her try another zombie-themed game ;)
 
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Looking at my Steam list, I believe the following are worth looking into for mom:

Bit Trip Runner

Crayon Physics

NightSky

Pinball FX, if you're on Windows 8, comes with a free table

Scribbenauts

Spirits

Train Simulator 2013

RapeLay

Okay, two of those are jokes.
 
If DS/3DS or Wii is an option I'd recommend Animal Crossing. Tons of fun. But if PC is the only option, like others have mentioned anything PopCap.
 
Pretty much anything by Big Fish Games. My mom enjoys the ocassional adventure game like Machinarium and Aquaria, but mostly just casual puzzlers. Back in the day she tackled a few legit games... I don't know how, but she somehow played all the way through my copy of D2 on Dreamcast, I think she also beat American McGee's Alice.
 
Just a few off the top of my head...

You Don't Know Jack
Rock Band
NBA Jam - always played this together when I was a kid.
 
Anyway to those of you who were actually helpful: thanks. I had heard of bejeweled before actually but hadn't played it i may give it a look. Not sure what the difference is between that and Jewel Quest 2. I'll have to look into it. One thing though: keithp mentioned Jewel Quest 2 would be the better version because of multiplayer.. that wont work. It should be a single player type game. She seriously doesn't understand how the internet works and wouldn't be able to play online with people properly at all. So if online multiplayer that makes Jewel quest 2 great that may have to be a pass

There are several good suggestions in there that i may have to try. Thanks a lot guys. Animal Crossing is one i never even thought of. I think i have it on Gamecube, and there's a Wii version out too i think isn't there? I never actually played them but i think they re damn simple, that may work. Wii is kinda an option i have one she can use, but its not downstairs and easy to use. I can loan her one of my DS's so that would work. Any good DS games might actually be good since she can just whip it out and play it. But the point right now was to try to stick to the PC to improve her mouse/keyboard skills

Any other suggestions are welcome. I'll look into those you guys posted up, especially those blueshinra thew out. Thats a good idea to check ports of mobile games and junk. By the way anyone know what the robot game that was like PVZ is called? I thought it was tiny robots or something but i googled that and it doesn't seem to be the right game

[quote name='midlifecrisisMkII']I had to laugh at this. I could never get my parents to play something like that. My parents are "technically challenged" as well, but they found solitaire on their own and that actually helped with their mouse skills.

As for a suggestion, I'd just look at what she reads and watches then try to find a game that ties into her interests.[/QUOTE]


Hah, ya i know. Her computer skills are seriosly like a 0. PVZ has helped immensly with her being able to navigate a mouse though. Id like to try to get a mouse/keyboard combo going soon but not sure if that would overwhelm her
 
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[quote name='Kenshindono'] Id like to try to get a mouse/keyboard combo going soon but not sure if that would overwhelm her[/QUOTE]

Get her used to the keyboard with Bit Trip Runner. She just has to jump and slide and shit, and it'll get her used to trial and error in video games.
 
My mom is rather fond of hidden object games, and word games like Bookworm. Maybe the tycoon games, though they are a bit complicated. I really enjoyed Chocolatier and it's sequels, and if she likes that there are tons of similar games. I'd try bigfishgames.com. They have tons of great casual games. World of Goo is outstanding, but gets challenging near the second half. Crayon Physics Deluxe is a very mellow game that would probably help with the mouse (you have to draw stuff). And of course most any adventure game, which a list of could scretch for miles depending on how far back you go. I played Lume recently, and while not an amazing game, it does have a very nice art style, and is completely at-your-own-pace. Spirits is a cool little indie game that doesn't require very much in terms of controls. Peggle, Bejeweled, Zuma, and all the PopCap games are obviously great choices. If you want to venture into facebook land, Triple Town is insanely addicting. Oh, and I think the game you MIGHT be thinking of is The Trouble with Robots. Maybe? It's not really tower defense, more a card collecting game, but it's quirky and would be a different sort of experience than most of these games.

Sorry about the wall of text, I could go on and on about casual games (I rather enjoy them, despite the stigma typically associated with the label). Hopefully she'll like a few of these, those really, what could be better than PvZ?
 
I thought Bit Trip Runner gets really hard? Maybe i'll check it out and see if it will work.

I actually just thought of something. Would the Phoenix Wright games be good for her? Wouldn't help with computer stuff but would they be a good mom game? She loves mystery stuff so i think it would be right up her alley if she can wrangle the controlls. I have all of them but havent really played any so im not sure how complicated the gameplay is.

Ill check chocolatier and some of the other ones you just mentioned MrNinjaSquirrel. I didn' tthink of facebook games either. Those are simple by design. I'll look into tripple town, a quick search makes it seem pretty simple.

And as for the robot plants vs zombies game i was thinking of: I THINK it may have been mini robot wars. does that sound right? Trouble with robots looks odd, though maybe its simple enough for her.
 
candy crush seems popular right nao. i've seen many mothers play it on the mall while having coffee. maybe she'll like it too.

generally, popcap games are both kid and chick friendly. farm frenzy is good too.
 
[quote name='Kenshindono'] Not sure what the difference is between that and Jewel Quest 2. I'll have to look into it. One thing though: keithp mentioned Jewel Quest 2 would be the better version because of multiplayer.. that wont work. It should be a single player type game. She seriously doesn't understand how the internet works and wouldn't be able to play online with people properly at all. So if online multiplayer that makes Jewel quest 2 great that may have to be a pass
[/QUOTE]

No, no, no, don't dismiss Jewel Quest's multiplayer as too hard for her, I absolutely guarantee it's not! All she does is click to start the game, and it loads the puzzle board just like in single-player mode but it automatically matches you up with someone comparable to your own skill-level. The newbie-mom-friendly part is that you're not really playing with them, you're simply trying to complete your board first and get a higher score than the other person. There's no interaction with the other person you're playing against at all! I'm absolutely certain she can handle it!! You get a running total that increases each time you win a match and decreases if you lose, and it's pretty addictive trying to get your score up and keep it up. Trust me, I've hooked several non-gamer/non-computer people on JQ 2.

Oh, and the biggest difference between Bejeweled and Jewel Quest is that JQ has a story to follow as you move from board to board.
 
[quote name='MrNinjaSquirrel']World of Goo is outstanding, but gets challenging near the second half. Crayon Physics Deluxe is a very mellow game that would probably help with the mouse (you have to draw stuff).[/QUOTE]
World of Goo is outstanding, but yes, it does get kind of hard later on. As for Crayon Physics Deluxe, I can't really recommend that since it's way too easy to accidentally delete your save (and it gets hard later on, too).

[quote name='Kenshindono']I actually just thought of something. Would the Phoenix Wright games be good for her? Wouldn't help with computer stuff but would they be a good mom game? She loves mystery stuff so i think it would be right up her alley if she can wrangle the controlls. I have all of them but havent really played any so im not sure how complicated the gameplay is.[/QUOTE]
The Ace Attorney games can be played with just the buttons/prompts on the touchscreen, and it's mostly just navigating through dialogue and menus (there's some gimmicky parts in a couple of them that require the DS microphone, IIRC). You might want to try the first one out yourself-- at the very least, the first case in the first game, which shouldn't take too long-- so that you can get an idea of what they're like, and whether or not they'd be suitable for your mom.
 
If your Mom has a Facebook account, Candy Crush Saga is the game. It's a match 3 game but much more difficult and very addicting.
 
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