Play the game parents guide

Pulling off fantastic stunts and cruising up the racing leaderboards earns followers and cements your status as the next big thing. With fans on your side, sponsors signing your checks, and a garage full of the fastest ways to travel, it's only a matter of time before the crown is yours.

Let's get one thing out of the way right from the starting line: What you get out of your time with this racer is absolutely dependent on how you choose to play it. For starters, The Crew 2 is big. In fact, it's almost too big, at least geographically speaking. Even using a compacted version of the United States, it still can feel like it takes forever to get from Point A to Point B.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. It can actually be quite relaxing to enjoy the view and take in the sights as you fly, drive, or boat your way across the country, stopping occasionally to take advantage of virtual photo ops along the way. Occasionally, you'll see a few other gamers traversing the countryside, but unless you're riding with friends as part of a party, it can be a lonely trip.

Of course, if you want to just jump into the action, The Crew 2 allows fast travel to most events scattered around the map, too. With so many different types of vehicles in one place, it's no surprise that the controls take some getting used to. Flight controls feel completely different than the cars, and the boats have their own little tricks and nuances to get use to as well.

In fact, the actual street racing component is probably the weakest of The Crew 2 's offerings. Oddly enough, though, the individual vehicles don't feel dramatically different from each other. Instead, any major performance differences come from equipping parts, which can be earned or found throughout the game and come in color-coded rarities. In some ways, this adds a certain level of loot grinding to the racer, forcing you to keep racing to get better parts for your machines.

This might seem out of place in most racing games, but in The Crew 2 , a game where you can instantly swap vehicle types on the fly and the United States map looks like a post-baked Shrinky Dink, "out of place" feels right at home. Families can talk about character strengths like competition and good sportsmanship. What are some positive ways to compete with others in games like The Crew 2? What are some of the behaviors to avoid when participating in a competition? How does operating a vehicle in the real world differ from driving in a virtual environment?

What are some ways that virtual simulations can help in the real world? Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners. See how we rate. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase.

Thank you for your support. Our ratings are based on child development best practices. We display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate. The star rating reflects overall quality and learning potential. Learn how we rate. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work!

The Crew 2. Popular with kids Parents recommend. Unique cross-country road race by air, sea, and land. Rate game. Play or buy. Based on 6 reviews. Based on 20 reviews. Kids like watching people play Minecraft for a variety of reasons: to learn new techniques; enjoy others' skills; keep up with the latest news; and feel like part of a community. But entertainment value is probably the biggest draw: The top Minecraft players have gained celebrity status in the gaming world, and they can be funny, interesting, and even personable.

As long as your kid is watching age-appropriate channels and balancing their screen time with other activities, watching people play video games is just like any spectator sport.

Get tips on how to talk to your kid about watching Minecraft videos on YouTube. While there are plenty of kid-friendly Minecraft players, such as Stampylonghead , who use their videos to teach tricks and share secrets, kids looking for Minecraft videos can easily stumble across age-inappropriate content. Many YouTube gamers offer videos on a wide assortment of games, including ones geared for older players, such as Grand Theft Auto.

And older players, such as the infamous Swedish gamer PewDiePie, use pretty strong language. You can suggest your kid use the YouTube Kids app to find age-appropriate Minecraft videos or subscribe only to channels you've preapproved.

When your kid is first getting into Minecraft, it's a good idea to watch videos with them so you can get a sense of the tone and content. Check out these kid-friendly channels , as well as:. Games like Minecraft that allow for exploration and creative expression -- instead of imposing a rigid structure -- can be good for learning because they stimulate critical thinking, problem-solving, and systems thinking learning how things work together.

Minecraft's focus on building can reinforce geometry concepts, as it strengthens players' logic skills, creativity, and even collaboration. But the educational value of any piece of media has a lot to do with who's guiding the learning.

To boost any skills your kid may be gleaning from Minecraft, you can ask questions about their experiences as they're playing, such as, "Why did you build that? Since Minecraft doesn't have an end point, it can be incredibly compelling.

But even though some kids have a really hard time tearing themselves away from certain games -- and some say they feel "addicted" to them -- that's probably due to other factors such as what's going on in their lives rather than a true dependency. During the coronavirus pandemic, for example, Minecraft saw big increases in new players and multiplayer sessions. With all media, it's important to help your kid learn to self-regulate, since you won't always be around to cut them off.

Start by having a conversation about all their daily duties and figure out how much game time fits in. Create a calendar, have them set a timer, and reward them for sticking to the time limits.

If you've tried this and want more control over their screen time, consider installing a parental-control program that lets you set daily screen limits for different programs. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work! Parenting, Media, and Everything In Between. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Minecraft. Dive deeper into the choose-your-own-adventure world of Minecraft, the quirky building game that can keep kids hooked for hours, but has lots of learning benefits, too.

By Caroline Knorr. Check out these kid-friendly channels , as well as: PopularMMOs. Hosted by Pat and Jen, a formerly married couple, PopularMMOs is, like its name, very popular with kids and has spawned a line of kids' books about Minecraft. Jen also has her own channel, GamingWithJen.

Dan Middleton, a happy, friendly, British gaming enthusiast, shows off cool, new features of Minecraft and other kids' games. In addition to Minecraft, channel star and mom Jessica Bravura shares vignettes of her family's life, YouTube "challenges," and new games other than Minecraft. Jordan Maron -- better known as "CaptainSparklez" -- is one of YouTube's most popular gaming personalities, with millions of subscribers tuning in to watch his Minecraft parodies, reaction videos, and Let's Plays.

Updated March 12, Games Like Minecraft. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Roblox. Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun. Minecraft vs. About Caroline Knorr. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print. Browse More. Browse Advice Most Shared.

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube. Explaining the News to Our Kids. Search by Age and Topic By age Preschoolers Little Kids Big Kids Tweens By topic Early Childhood. Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking. Back to School. Celebrity Influence on Kids. Cellphone Parenting.

Character Strengths and Life Skills. Common Sense News. Coronavirus Support. Digital Citizenship. Digital Media and School. Healthy Media Habits. Steam also has a security feature called Steam Guard that provides an additional level of security to an account. It uses either an approved email address or two-factor authentication via the Steam mobile app to protect accounts from hackers. Steam itself is free to download and use, but many of the games available do come with a cost. Savvy gamers can wait for one of Steam's many sales for serious savings.

Keep in mind that when you buy games from the Steam store, you can only play them on the Steam network. Steam Wallet is a way that users can buy games or other content on the Steam store. Users can either add money to a Steam Wallet using a credit card or buy a physical Steam gift card at a store or supermarket and enter the code to access the funds. Using Steam Wallet can be a useful way for parents to manage their kids' spending on Steam, especially since some games are pricey to download or offer in-game purchases that can add up fast.

Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work! Parenting, Media, and Everything In Between. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Steam. Is your gamer obsessed with Steam? Here's everything you need to know about the popular but permissive PC gaming platform.

By Frannie Ucciferri. Topics: Gaming , Healthy Media Habits. Updated March 1, Parents' Ultimate Guide to Esports. Best MMOGs. Best Video Games for Teens. Nonviolent Video Games. About Frannie Ucciferri. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print. Browse More. Browse Advice Most Shared. Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube. Explaining the News to Our Kids. Search by Age and Topic By age Preschoolers Little Kids Big Kids Tweens By topic Early Childhood.

Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking. Back to School. Celebrity Influence on Kids. Cellphone Parenting. Character Strengths and Life Skills.