Your Mac isn't just good for doing schoolwork or connecting with friends. Thanks to the Mac App Store, it's also the home to impressive games for kids. Many of our favorites are part of Apple Arcade. However, there are others we recommend that you can purchase separately.
Alto's Adventure
First released on iOS in 2015, Alto's Adventure remains one of the most popular games in the Apple universe, regardless of platform. Packed with 180 handcrafted goals, Alto's Adventure for Mac is a snowboarding odyssey like no other. The physics-based gameplay is easy to learn but challenging to master, which is precisely how these types of games should be no?
Once you master Alto's Adventure, move onto Alto's Odyssey, which is also available on the Mac App Store. You'll be happy you did as Alto's adventure moves to a warmer climate.
Find educational games for Mac. Read age-appropriate reviews for kids and parents by our experts.
Down the hill you go
Alto's Adventure
With six unique snowboarders
Experience fully dynamic lighting and weather effects, including thunderstorms, blizzards, fog, rainbows, shooting stars, and more
Bring You Home
The Love You to Bits team is out with its latest game, Bring You Home. Featuring Polo, a humble alien hero, your job is to reunite the star with his kidnapped alien pet. Family-friendly, this puzzle adventure comes with a few exciting twists through a unique game mechanic. Silly, inventive, and unexpected, Bring You Home comes highly recommended.
Meet adorable Polo
Bring You Home
A smart, refreshing adventure
How far will you go in this game full of twists, turns, and family-friendly fun?
Crossy Road Castle
For solo or multiple users, Cross Road Castle builds on the original game in fun new ways. With various levels and variations, the game is easy to enjoy even offline. Better still, every run up the castle is different. And like all Apple Arcade games, there are no in-app purchases required.
Go upward, my friend
Crossy Road Castle
Climb the tower
What will you find today? With Crossy Road Castle, every day is a new adventure.
Dandara
In the 2D world of Salt, life has changed considerably, and not for the better. Fear has arrived where there was once happiness; oppression has replaced freedom. But all is not lost thanks to Dandara, a heroine for our time. In this platformer game, you'll discover mysteries and secrets hidden throughout the world of Salt alongside its interesting cast of characters. Where does it end? That's up to you to figure out.
Beautiful and immersive
Dandara
Explore this directionless world
In the world of Salt, the world has broken down. Make it better by solving the world's many puzzles.
Element
In Element, you're escaping a decaying solar system where you must visit each different planets to grab essential elements. By doing so, you'll generate energy and build attack and defense units to defeat your enemy. The realtime strategy space game is beautifully crafted and designed for those who don't have hours to invest in gameplay.
A non-gamer strategy game
Element
Incredible journey around a dying solar system
Do you have what it takes to save the universe? You're about to find out.
LEGO Builder's Journey
LEGO Builder's Journey is a poetic puzzle that takes place in a breathtaking world filled with brick-by-brick effects, accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack. Throughout the narrative, discover movements that go up and down, challenges that inspire, and celebrations that will keep building.
Art meets LEGOs
LEGO Builder's Journey
A story about play, connections, and adventure
Smile! Here's a LEGO game like no other. Perfect for all ages (including older builders), this game is a special treat you didn't know you needed.
My Brother Rabbit
A little girl and her brother use the power imagination to escape a hostile outside world. What they discover is a fantastic universe that provides the play and comfort they need. In this land of make-believe, you'll help an adorable rabbit play mini-games, find hidden objects, and more. Along the way, you'll discover five amazing areas full of unique characters, including robs-moose, giant mushrooms, and more.
Land of make-believe
My Brother Rabbit
Five worlds to discover
With the real world in danger and uncertainty, escape to the fictional world of My Brother Rabbit.
Quiplash
For three to eight players, Quiplash comes from the team that brought us You Don't Know Jack and Fibbage. The question-and-answer game has no rules and no correct answers. What it does is offer hours of fun for family and friends.
Multi-player game
Quiplast
Hilarous fun
Another great party game from one of the best developers in the business.
Things That Go Bump
During the night, everyday objects and rooms come to life. Be careful of spirit creatures called yōkai, which can both destroy and give life. Fun and challenging for the whole family, Things That Go Bump offers gameplay for up to four players across multiple devices, including Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
Test your curiosity and creativity
Things That Go Bump
Kid-friendly design
Test your curiosity and creativity with new challenges in every room.
Your favorites?
Does your little one sit behind the computer, playing games better than you ever could at that age? What is their favorite go-to Mac game? Let us know in the comments below.
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Best Online Games For Mac
- Games by Genre
Most Popular Educational Games
Tux Typing
Improve Your Typing Skills With This Fantastic Educational Game!
SpongeBob SquarePants Typing
Help SpongeBob Win the Typing Tournament!
Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom
Kids Educational Online Games For Mac Computers
Explore Four Storybooks to Find the Crystals and Save the Crystal Kingdom!
Diego's Dinosaur Adventure
Join Diego on His Big Adventure!
Doras Carnival Adventure
Help Dora Win Lots Of Fun Prizes!
La Casa De Dora
Explore The Fun Inside Dora's Home!
Doras Carnival 2: At the Boardwalk
Have Fun at the Carnival with Dora the Explorer in the Educational game Doras Carnival 2: At the Boardwalk!
Bob the Builder - Can Do Zoo
Build Bobland Bay Zoo From the Ground Up in This Awesome Adventure Based on the Hit Television Series!
Aqua Words
Fun word game with a really cute character!
Caillou Kindergarten: Counting and Thinking Skills Combined
Children Can Learn Vital Counting and Thinking Skills By Playing With Caillou
All Educational Games
10.0 = DFG Review Score
NA = Not Reviewed Yet
New! = Games listed in the last 30 days
= Mobile Games
Aqua Words
Make words out of fun bubble letters.
Bob the Builder - Can Do Zoo
Build Bobland Bay Zoo from the ground up!
Bob the Builder: Can Do Carnival
Save the Carnival and do fun educational activities!
Caillou Kindergarten: Counting and Thinking Skills Combined
Learning counting and spelling is fun when playing with Caillou!
Caillou Preschool - Alphabet, Colors, & Shapes
Learn shapes, colors and the alphabet in three languages.
Diego's Dinosaur Adventure
Join Diego on his big adventure!
Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom
Explore four storybooks to help save the Crystal Kingdom!
Dora the Explorer: Swiper's Big Adventure!
Help Dora and Swiper save a lost baby fox!
Doras Carnival 2: At the Boardwalk
Learn, have fun and win great prizes at Dora's carnival!
Doras Carnival Adventure
Help Dora win lots of fun prizes!
JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade Fundamentals
Get Ready for 2nd Grade with a Worldwide Adventure!
JumpStart Advanced Preschool Fundamentals
Get a headstart on your child's early learning skills!
La Casa De Dora
Explore the fun inside Dora's home!
Math Blaster Ages 7-9
Exciting story & game combined with age 7-9 math!
Piano Teacher
Learn how to play piano with this free portable music app.
Reading Blaster Ages 9-12
Stop a madman who's turning people into appliances!
SpongeBob SquarePants Typing
Help SpongeBob win the typing tournament!
To the Rescue Bundle!
When disaster strikes, count on The Rescue Team to save the day!
Trivia Crack
A fun and fast-paced game that anyone can pick up and play!
Tux Typing
Improve your typing skills!
Typer Shark Deluxe
Learn to be an excellent typer and have a great time doing it!
Learn About Kids’ Educational Games
What are Educational Games?
Computer games have been extremely popular over the last several decades. People of all ages enjoy playing games on the computer as a form of entertainment. Unsurprisingly, computer games are especially popular among children. Educators have taken advantage of this fact to create computer games specifically designed for children. These video games are often referred to as “educational games” or “edutainment”. They are designed to teach or reinforce concepts and ideas in the context of a computer game. This means that kids can learn while they are having fun.
Kids computer games often allow the child to interact with the characters in the game. They can manipulate objects and variables in an effort to solve a goal. Often, they must learn how to solve puzzles, learn facts, or learn new skills before they can advance to the next level of the game. Some computer games force children to plan ahead and can be effective at developing their strategic thinking skills. After working on and improving these skills in the context of a computer game, the skills can often be transferred over and used to solve problems in real life.
Computer games used for education are a hot topic among many educators. Computer and video games are often portrayed in the media as mindless entertainment that often does more harm than good. However, there have been emerging studies that actually show the opposite. For this reason, many school systems in the United Stakes and the United Kingdom have begun to include computer games as part of the educational curriculum.
History of Educational Games
One of the first and most widely known computer game for kids was The Oregon Trail. This game was originally developed in 1971 by three student teachers in Minnesota. One of the teachers had the idea to create a video game based on a history class that he was currently teaching. By 1974, the game was accessible by students across Minnesota. The first Apple version was released in 1978, and proved to be extremely popular. Subsequent editions were released in 1980, 1985, 1992, and 1997. As late as 2009, an updated version was released for the iPhone. Many adults today can remember playing The Oregon Trail on Apple computers when they were in school.
Another extremely popular educational computer game was Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? developed by Broderbund Software in 1983. This game was originally designed as an effort to get children interested in geography facts. In this game, the player acts as a detective and tries to hunt down Carmen Sandiego as she travels around the world committing crimes. Players would have to know geographical facts in order to follow the right clue leading to the capture of a criminal. This game, originally on the Apple II computer system, also spawned a wide variety of spinoffs, including Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego?, and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? It also spun off several television game shows for children on the PBS network.
Another classic kids computer game was Math Blaster. Math Blaster was first released in 1987. This game made math fun for kids by forcing them to quickly solve math problems as an integral part of the game’s fast paced shooter gameplay. Based on the popularity of Math Blaster, a sequel was produced in 1989, and soon an entire suite of games we produced under the Blaster Learning System brand. These included Reading Blaster and Science Blaster.
Due to the popularity of these early kids computer games, many other titles were released with the intent to both entertain and educate children. Some of these titles included:
* Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
* The ClueFinders
* EcoQuest
* Storybook Weaver
* Genomics Digital Lab
* Treasures of the Deep
* Gizmos & Gadgets
* Reader Rabbit
* Quest Atlantis
* JumpStart
* PlaceSpotting
Who Might Like These Types of Games?
These games can be great for teachers and parents. Many parents are reluctant to let their children play video games when they would rather have them reading or playing outside. When children ask for video games to play, these can be great. Parents can be sure that their children are getting a learning benefit from them as well as having fun.
Teachers also are constantly looking for ways to educate their students in a fun way. These games can be a way to accomplish that; engaging the mind, teaching skills, and solidifying the concepts using interaction, audio, video and entertainment all at the same time.