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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1143 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 7, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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She's about the right age to play the first few levels of The Logical Journey of the Zoombinis herself on easy mode. You'd need to assist for the later levels, but it's well-enough designed that adults can give hints without giving answers.

Nom Nom Galaxy is a bit factorio-meets-terraria, but at a much smaller and simpler scale, and clearer visuals. Still a lot happening off-screen, but it's a two-or-three item mental map, not the hundred-deep, and each step is pretty visible. May or may not be a good compromise.

The Witness's general story (to the extent it has one) is going to be way too much at that age range, but the actual puzzles are pretty simple and generally all in one screen or room. Just skip The Challenge.

Slime Rancher and Slime Rancher 2 have some dialogue and math, but the whole 'grab slimes and put em in a bin, combine em' is pretty straightforward. The Tarr might be a bit much, depending on her tolerance for peril, though.

Tiny Glade is just building, nothing else. Might still be meditative, and gives a lot of options for interaction, but may be too simple for you. Cloud Gardens is a similar boat, but a little more guided.

The Witness

I'll be honest with you: The Witness was too opaque for myself, right out of the gate.

For me too. I played for an hour or two, wandered around as I took actions that seemed to have no meaningful effect on the world, and eventually said "eh fuck this" and refunded the game.

I’m trying to think back to my earliest gaming memories.

I sort of remember firing up sim city 2000 and populous and ThemePark and Civ2 from DOS. And Baldies. I don’t know what tolerance kids have for old graphics. But I would highly recommend Baldies.

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