We live in a highly-connected world. Gone are the days where several people needed to be physically present in the same room on the same console to enjoy group gaming. Nowadays, gaming consoles such as the XBox have made it easy to join games virtually to bring players together in fun and unique ways. Whether you are in the same room, across town, or in another state, there are many ways to play games with family and friends to stay connected, even at a distance.  

Here are two family-friendly group games for you to check out with your family.

Minecraft

Minecraft has been a game staple for the 6-9-year-old age group for the years.  The game is comparable to building with legos, and it is easy for novice players to pick up. Up to four players can play from a single console using split-screen viewing. Additionally, family and friends can join the same Minecraft world from other devices. For example, separate households can have multiple players across several devices, all wandering about and building in the same virtual world during the winter when reduced daylight limits outdoor play. Plus, the chat feature encourages youngsters to practice reading and writing without even being aware they are building lifelong skills in the process.

Roblox  

Another popular multiplayer game that allows for cross-device group gaming is called Roblox. While Roblox does not support local multiplayer, users across devices can join each other in games.  Roblox allows users to program their own games and play games designed by other users.  Like Minecraft, which relies upon an Xbox username to establish a group of trusted friends, a Roblox username identifies offline contacts for safe-group gaming. 

As always, it’s important to monitor young players on Xbox games even when they are playing in solo mode. Some games, such as Roblox, may be family-friendly overall, but user-generated mini-games may contain mature language or violence. 

Bonus! Wii Games - Various

While we're talking about Xbox games, we thought it would be fun to highlight one other gaming console to consider. It may not be the cool new gaming system it was when it was first launched back in 2006, but it remains one of the most family friendly video game consoles. Many of the games still involve players getting up and moving around with the game controllers, making it more interactive and a fun family activity for game night. 

Thanks to the connectedness of our devices, gaming can be a great shared experience. Consider checking out one of these family-friendly group games the next time you want to spend time with your kids on their turf.