Opinions on Fortnite?

[rosybell]

My DS's are (nearly) 7 & 8, and like many kids love video games, esp at the moment. They love Minecraft and Roblox. We have resisted Fortnite, but I'm wondering how bad it is. Lockdown boredom is kicking in! Would we regret letting them play? Are they too young?!

My 8 year old has been playing this with his school friends for well over a year now, I think it's ok. As far as I can tell most kids in age bracket also play it.

The only thing I would say is they can get obsessed by it. They do develop some useful life skills (so not totally wasted time) and it's a great way to interact with their school friends but my DGS does get frustrated and and uptight with it but that could be just him. He'd play it 24/7 if he could!

As a game it’s not too bad and certainly you don’t see anything gory etc but if your DSs have a tendency to get frustrated and obsessed then be careful! I would recommend strict time limits (and rules around taking it away again if they throw controllers, don’t come off when they are supposed to etc). Am speaking from experience! Having said that, it is the one way that DS12 is keeping In touch with friends at the moment so on balance I am happy for him to play.

Thanks all. Sorry I am a bit clueless, how do they connect with their friends in it, do they all need to be playing it on similar devices or can they connect if one has a switch and one has a PS4, for example?

About to sound really lame here, but DH and I actually love playing it with a couple of our friends once DD is in bed for the night. Been great during lockdown as its a bit like getting together!

Its in no way violent / disturbing, but can see how it would be difficult for children to switch off / come away from it easily, so I would have some very clear boundaries in place before agreeing. It is also incredibly easy to play with / talk to literally ANYONE, so I would be regularly checking he is only playing & communicating with his school friends.

Re connecting he will need a headset and mic, and can play with people on different devices.

My 6 and 11yr olds play it. The youngest seems to always get killed in the storm, buy likes watching others play on. My 11yr old is amazing at in. She beats dhs friends.

I struggle to aim, find the shoot button and move simultaneously.

What device can you play it on?

It’s not a violent game. My child likes to play in creative mode mostly.
The biggest problem we have with it is getting them to come off without a huge meltdown.

I'm resisting for now. My just turned 8 year old struggles to come off the X box at times as it is so the deal is it'll be reviewed when he's 10 IF he has become better at coming off the X box when asked. He understands the deal and knows that Fortnite can be quite addictive. For now, I think he learns a lot playing minecraft and am happy to buy him other "fun" games (we have Rocketleague for example, playing football with cars).

My 9 year olds plays this, I do restrict the time on it become as a pp said, he would be on it 24/7 if he could.
It's in the lounge so i see what's going in and he is only allowed to play with people he/I know.
It's great for him to stay connected to his friends. He has a ps4 but plays with his friends who use switch/xbox/PC.
They speak via headset

Watch out for how much it costs over time too... battle passes... skins...

It's awesome.

It's a 12.

My 7&8 year olds play it have done for about a year. One plays on the PlayStation and the other a switch.

Very addictive. My DS struggles to come off and is always flushed and grumpy immediately after. Don’t have the same problem with Star Wars Battlefront etc. I’d resist if I were you. That said, you can cross play, which is handy. (Xbox and PS can play together )

Not if your child has an over active imagination. My Son doesn,t play this bt played other games or watched you tube that mentioned it. He then goes to school talking about shootings in a supermarket. The school thought he was being seriouse. So def not inmy house.

Cross play - the name for playing on different consoles - works pretty well in Fortnite. It's all managed by the Epic servers, so everyone needs to have an Epic account and be Epic friends.

You can cross play Switch, PS4, XboxOne, PC, Mac and mobile. Pretty impressive. Voice chat should also work, that's handled by the game not each platforms' method.

As to the game? It's fine I guess, I'm not a fan but kids love it. It's not gory or anything, but it is a "shoot dudes in the face from a distance" sort of game so if you're ideologically opposed to that then, well there you go. If you're not, all the research says it's not violence-habituating.

It does seem to be peculiarly addictive, so don't let the kids get away with staying on it for hours - strict controls, but be aware that it's a multiplayer game with max 20 minute rounds. The former means it's a jerk move for the kids friends to have your kid pulled out of it early; the latter means it's over quickly enough anyway. "This is your last round!" is a likely regular order.

No It’s fine for that age. The 12 rating is more for the fact you can talk online. A headset with mic means they can talk and play along with friends.
They aim at each other etc but no blood or fallen men etc they just vanish when shot.

It’s not bloody or gory etc , but it is addictive and is currently under review as it promotes gambling.

Definitely have strict boundaries.

www.askaboutgames.com/parents-guide-to-fortnite-pegi-12/

*Rating

In the UK the Video Standards council rate Fortnite as PEGI 12 for frequent scenes of mild violence. It is not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.

The VSC expand on the PEGI rating by stating that “Violence consists of you using whatever weapons you can find or make to fend off the monsters of the Storm and save the survivors. Damage is dealt by numbers and life bars and monsters disappear in a purple flash when defeated.”

Online Players

Not covered by ratings are the interactions with other players online. Although the game isn’t rating for profanity, its online nature could expose younger players to offensive language from random strangers via the voice or on-screen text chat

It's the dances that are dangerous - last year ds then 15 managed to dislocate his knee doing one called orange justice!

@Mumthedogsbeensick
I laughed out loud - which is cruel.
Hope your son was ok

I agree with comments about hard getting them to come off it. For that reason alone I don’t like it. I also find my son gets quite “worked up”.

Resist if you can would be my advice

My kids have played it - they seem to go through phases - we're in a Roblox phase at the moment, another week it'll be minecraft, or plant vs. zombies, or pokemon, or clash of clans or whatever

They aren't allowed any chat facilities, and I never buy virtual goods - except once when I bought them a fortnite season pass and was therefore the best mum ever