I have an old Raspberry Pi 1 (!) still going strong with Batocera Linux running NES, SNES and Mega Drive (Genesis) emulators.

I’m looking for easy multiplayer games that can be played with a 5yo. Non violent and ideally co-op, bonus points if somewhat educational.

  • zod000@lemmy.mlEnglish
    3·
    3 hours ago

    It doesn’t count as non-violent, but every kid I have played it with has thoroughly enjoyed the TMNT arcade game (as well as the Simpsons game that plays similarly. If you play with them you can essentially carry them through the game and they are just along for the ride, but feel like they are part of the team.

  • whotookkarl@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    3 hours ago

    A bunch of arcade games become much more friendly to kids with infinite continues, shmups, fighters, brawlers, etc but for those you’ll need to filter on violence. I’d probably also avoid anything RPG or story heavy.

    My picks would be Bubble bobble, Kirby on SNES, ice hockey on NES, Mario 1-3, super Mario kart, Tetris, monkey ball, Dr Mario. For Sega Sonic 1-3 & knuckles, ecco, robotnik’s mean bean machine, Alex kidd, outrun

  • the16bitgamer@programming.devEnglish
    4·
    10 hours ago

    Lots of other great suggestions. But I do think the consensus is multiplayer games with coop.

    Konami beat ‘em ups like TMNT, The Simpson, Xmen would be great.

    I’m also going to throw in Party games or kart racers, CTR and Mario Kart of Mario Party or Crash Bash would also be great

    That said Pokémon might be a nice option too though not sure how you’d play that together.

    Or edutainment like Gizmos and Gadgets or Jumpstart

  • HexagonSun@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    5·
    12 hours ago

    Sonic 2.

    Controlling Tails can be good fun if you’re very young and don’t fully know what you’re doing!

    Can be hard keeping both characters on screen at times though.

    • HexagonSun@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      3·
      11 hours ago

      Actually Sonic 3 is a slight improvement in this regard once you get the hang of things - Tails can be more helpful, and carry Sonic to higher ledges

  • Blue@lemmy.worldEnglish
    35·
    23 hours ago

    Bubble Bobble is one of my favourite retro multiplayer games since it has both players playing simultaneously (not each take a turn/hand off the controller) but might still be a bit difficult for a 5 year old 🤔

    Edit: Tetris & Dr. Mario for the SNES might also work

    • Minnels@lemmy.zipEnglish
      3·
      11 hours ago

      Dr Mario? My 3 yo wanted me to play Dr Mario while looking around in the n64 thing on switch. The game totally crushed me. Maybe 5 year olds are better at it than 40 year olds 😂

    • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      10 hours ago

      I second Dr Mario. When I first went off to kindergarten, my mom and little brother would play Dr Mario together. It’s perfect for that age range, simple to play and control, with an option for two-player mode.

    • cannedtuna@lemmy.worldEnglish
      12·
      23 hours ago

      Nah. I played the crap outta Bubble Bobble around that age. Some of my best early memories involve playing Bubble Bobble on NES with my parents after dinner every night. Had all the level codes jotted down on a sheet of notebook paper, including all the lettered levels.

    • ace_garp@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      23 hours ago

      If Bubble Bobble fits; Snow Bros, TumblePop, Puzzle Bobble or Super Pang may work too.

      • Bonus educational game, is to install GCompris and solve the puzzles together.
    • jjjalljs@ttrpg.networkEnglish
      2·
      18 hours ago

      I played the shit out of bubble bobble as a 3 year old. It has passwords for saves, which was tricky because none of me and the other neighborhood kids could read. It’s a great game, though.

      There’s one level like a third of the way through that baffled us for weeks. Still hard, as an adult. Good fun, though. Lots of “go go go go get it go go go oooh no dang.” moments.

    • Albbi@lemmy.caEnglish
      2·
      19 hours ago

      This is a great idea. I was also just thinking of using cheats to enable invincibility for player 2, that way they can save you and not worry about dying.

    • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      22 hours ago

      I’m double on the Bubble Bobble! A core memory for me is playing that game with my brother for hours on end!

    • pezhore@infosec.pubEnglish
      7·
      20 hours ago

      Honestly? This is a great, low stakes way of letting him get the feel for the game without feeling like he’s not “helping”.

    • pinball_wizard@lemmy.zipEnglish
      3·
      18 hours ago

      This is the way.

      And in case OP doesn’t know: the same can be done with Sonic 3 and then with Sonic and Knuckles.

      But also, I second starting with Sonic 2. The controls are a bit simpler, and it’s a classic.

  • owenfromcanada@lemmy.caEnglish
    11·
    20 hours ago

    Kirby Superstar (SNES) is great for this, I play it with my 5-year-old. The second player plays as the “helper” character, and when they die, Kirby can create them again. It effectively plays like a “buddy mode.” That game is also one of my all-time favorites just for what it is, so I’m a bit biased.

  • pinball_wizard@lemmy.zipEnglish
    7·
    18 hours ago

    “Toejam and Earl: Panic on Funkotron” (Genesis) has a very well designed “little kid mode” in the options, and it’s still really fun.

    Edit: Example regarding violence - you get to throw jars at humans to trap them for transport back to earth. And you need to watch out for bowling balls falling out of trees.

  • BigTrout75@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    23 hours ago

    Hard to beat Super Mario Brothers. I tried other classics, bunch of arcade games, but my son never liked them. Ms. Pac-Man might work. The big hit with us was Wii sports.