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Original poster

Can someone please explain Roblox to me?

39 replies

RUOKHon · 20/02/2021 20:39

I’ve done some google searches on this already, but all the info I can find assumes at least some basic knowledge of gaming and I am utterly clueless. I sort of understand what it is, but I have never been into gaming, I don’t really know much about it. How does it work? Do you pay for it as a download?

My 7 year old is bugging me to get it but I have no idea if it’s safe or not. Can other online players talk to you? Is it appropriate for a 7yo?

OP posts:

megletsecond · 21/02/2021 09:46

It is kiddie crack. I can't find anything redeeming about it, the game itself looks cheap and nasty. My 12yr old is always playing Adopt Me with her friends.

SpringisSpinning · 21/02/2021 09:59

I've found it to be a life saver throughout lock down, but it needs controlling and yes some of the games are ridiculous for that age group.

My dd also loved the jobs one, building amazing houses and pent houses... Fashion shows, adopt me.

You can make sure your dc stays away from the other games. Also as other pp said just link your dc up to friends on other tech eg phone.

We also brought some additional things for dd because that's all she wanted to spend pocket money on.
And we don't buy her magazines with cheap plastic shizzle on the front like her older ds.
The variety of games kept dd occupied and also helped to encourage her to spell.

So yes it's good but with usual parents caution and vigilance....

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 21/02/2021 10:03

I'm not excusing the 'horror' games like Piggy but please bear in mind the most that happens in these games if your character is caught is that they will go 'oof' and fall into pieces - there is never any blood or anything like that. DD self regulates and would never want to play games like that but I could see why it could be problematic if you have the sort of child that will go to great lengths to search out the bad stuff!

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7 year olds

ThePricklySheep · 21/02/2021 10:09

There’s a ‘child’ setting somewhere to switch on IIRC?

Ours have played it a lot, while chatting over Houseparty with their friends as a way of keeping some social contact. They keep to the not scary games. You can ask her to check with you before she plays a game?

Dogsaresomucheasier · 21/02/2021 10:13

I tried to set up child friendly, age rated games with no chat. My 7 year old didn’t like it because his friends could play other things. He managed to make his own, unfiltered account using his school email address.

Roblox is banned in all it’s forms now, at router level.

Whodofthunk · 21/02/2021 10:29

@TakemedowntoPotatoCity have you ever played them yourself? Because I can assure you that is certainly not the most that happens. You really do not need to go to great lengths to find such games either. If indeed you really do have a child who can 'self regulate' not to go anywhere near anything remotely dubious then I think you are in the minority. Most will want to play new games and games that their friends are talking about at some point.

SpringisSpinning · 21/02/2021 10:34

What does happen then?

Useful poster... My dd was griefed the other day.. We didn't know it was a thing..

Fembot123 · 21/02/2021 10:44

Piggy hits you and you disappear

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 21/02/2021 11:12

Whodofthunk yes, I play Roblox with my DD a lot! It is far preferable to playing imaginary games to me but then I am a games nut and always have been. I find Adopt Me quite boring but some games like obbies are quite fun, and we do have a laugh at the ridiculous positions that Roblox characters can glitch into.
But then both DD and I are on the autism spectrum so it's not really surprising we connect on this level. I can assure you she would never go near Piggy and goes to great lengths to avoid games like that. She won't even watch an advert that says 'Pegi 12' and makes me turn it off! ALl part of her ASD.
However, I'm not naive enough to presume many kids are like this. She was playing with a friend of hers the other day and I looked into their games history and found a poo-eating simulator

Attictroll · 21/02/2021 11:27

Ds...plays lots of it. As well as only being friends with real friends etc as people above have said he has to show me any new game he tries and cannot just browse games. When he got it we looked through together, We have also experimented with building a simple obby in roblox studio. Also no robux allowed. A general rule is we don’t waste real money on virtual toys but tbh he’s never asked. A few of us mums on the class all had a chat about ground rules too so I think it helps that no one really has different limitations.
Mostly car games are played and he knows to tell us of something worries him. Also he is never allowed to game without one of us in the room or in earshot- he is 8 years old.

BiBabbles · 21/02/2021 11:40

With my 9- and 11-year-olds, they only play the console version so it's easier to monitor, at least to me. It's kinda like having a bunch of free games that they can pick from, and it can be hard to tell just from the name/picture/description what is suitable or not, but the console automatically blocks based on the account settings (much to my 11-year-old's annoyance as she keeps finding things that 'sound cool', but she can't play). There is similar on the computer version, but I found the console version easier to handle controls on.

My 16-year-old mainly uses it on a laptop. He makes armours and items for the characters in the shop and does some of the roleplay games there, which sometimes have Discord servers or other things off the game. That I think is one of the bigger risks and benefits of the computer version is that it can connect well into other places.

Hettyhopper · 21/02/2021 15:23

Child crack with crappy often innapropriate games and often people just out to scam or pick on other players. Nope.

Fembot123 · 21/02/2021 17:24

My son plays it on his Xbox in front of me, the games are rubbish visually but inappropriate, nah. You can’t be ‘picked on’ or scammed with the correct settings.

ForzaFunofit · 20/06/2021 15:52

@Fembot123

My son plays it on his Xbox in front of me, the games are rubbish visually but inappropriate, nah. You can’t be ‘picked on’ or scammed with the correct settings.

I'm afraid this is mostly not true. (played with DS & DD for about 18 months) remember there are many many games on Roblox - it isn't one single game. All V different. If you turn chat off that is some protection - but bullying and scamming is absolutely rife even on biggest games like adopt me. Some games ARE really inappropriate (behaviour of other players overtly sexual & weird comments in Meepcity and there was another called something like viberoom). There was a function where you could upload a pic to a Tshirt- observed many examples of hardcore porn pics). The thing to remember is that the moderation is very very poor. Normally very disinterested. Too many users without enough quality oversight - that's why this business is worth so much money. Would recommend playing with your children and being very mindful of what exactly they are playing and put a stop to some games.

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