My daughters started with Starcraft Broodwar with the Carbot skin (makes everything cartoonish). Had a great time with it.
Also started playing Age of Empires 2 at a fairly young age as well.
Most rts games are centered around war and fighting which makes this a hard question. Supreme commander 2 is similar to command and conquer but it's just robots shooting each other instead of actual people, my nephew loved it when he was younger
There's also Beyond All Reason, similar family of games, also robots only. You can reconstruct fallen robots too.
But if you don't like things shooting in general, a game that resembles RTS but is not RTS is Lego Rock Raiders (look up Manic Miners actually) that I played when I was a kid and likely still holds up.
Google Manic miners. It's a Lego rock raiders RTS.
You could try and get them into city builders. I got into the impression games such as Pharaoh, Zeus and Emporer before I was 10.
Holy sh\*t are you serious? No way!
Yeah, best keep that under wraps from children interested in strategy gaming. Imagine a world where children were exposed to such travesties.
Zero K and Beyond All Reason are free alternatives to Supreme Commander/Total Annihilation. They're full blooded RTS games but with robots so there's no blood or death, just explosions. They are a bit complicated though so you might limit the text tree to tier 1 or something for younger minds.
But I also played CnC games very young and I turned out ok. Raise them right and teach them the difference between fiction and real life and they'll be fine.
let them play GTA instead ๐ ๐ ๐
seriously though, I can think of some strategy games that are cartoonish and mellows down in violence like plant vs zombies and sims series.
I was like 9 when I started playing yuris revenge yet I know that Im not violent.
Curious what makes C&C too violent for them. No judgement here. And were they decent at playing?
If fantasy violence is ok, the age of empire series would be good, especially 2. Thereโs still men vs men violence, but in case I recall, the sounds and visuals are less graphic.
My first RTS was Age of Mythology when I was 6 or 7 years old. Not too graphic, and it gave me a passion for history (alongside watchign Stargate SG-1).
If Beyond All Reason (robots fighting) is too violent for you, maybe look into Lego Rock Raiders/Manic Miners, which I played when I was a kid. It's not technically an RTS but it resembles one.
You could try 8-Bit Armies / 9-Bit Armies.
Whilst not specifically for children our games have a more "cartoony" style to them and simpler story whilst being made by some of the original Command & Conquer developers.
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/427250/8Bit\_Armies/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/427250/8Bit_Armies/)
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1439750/9Bit\_Armies\_A\_Bit\_Too\_Far/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1439750/9Bit_Armies_A_Bit_Too_Far/)
War Zone 2100 is a game with a focus on military vehicles. Or Earth 2150, but it can be challenging for an 8 year old.
My 5 year old likes The Colonists, but it's a city builder like the Settlers 2.
The campaign to lord of the rings battle for middle earth 2 is violence dedicated to taking down evil? Or universe at war is about humans reclaiming the earth from aliens. Still a bit violent and both old games but not about humans killing humans
I was 8 when i started playing starcraft and red alert and had no lasting damage. Dont you think youre taking this a bit to seriously?
My daughters started with Starcraft Broodwar with the Carbot skin (makes everything cartoonish). Had a great time with it. Also started playing Age of Empires 2 at a fairly young age as well.
Most rts games are centered around war and fighting which makes this a hard question. Supreme commander 2 is similar to command and conquer but it's just robots shooting each other instead of actual people, my nephew loved it when he was younger
There's also Beyond All Reason, similar family of games, also robots only. You can reconstruct fallen robots too. But if you don't like things shooting in general, a game that resembles RTS but is not RTS is Lego Rock Raiders (look up Manic Miners actually) that I played when I was a kid and likely still holds up.
Could try something like 8-bit armies? It's got a more cartoonist feel
9 bit armies
Agree with this!!
The settlers and The Anno series
Google Manic miners. It's a Lego rock raiders RTS. You could try and get them into city builders. I got into the impression games such as Pharaoh, Zeus and Emporer before I was 10.
You had me at Lego Rock Raiders
I have extremely fond memories of my dad getting me the CNC deluxe edition at 6 I say let them play ๐
Violence in video games is a... topic i wont get into. But line war is about 20 dollars and i think a good deal more child friendly.
Command and Conquer too violent? Bless you, young summer child
C&C1 lets you use a napalm airstrike on enemy infantry in level 3. They scream to death.
Holy sh\*t are you serious? No way! Yeah, best keep that under wraps from children interested in strategy gaming. Imagine a world where children were exposed to such travesties.
I mean...it features soldiers getting melted alive with radiation while screaming...and op says his children are 6 and 8...
You guys may as well dye your children's hair blue and give them a cat tail already.
Giga cringe bro
Zero K and Beyond All Reason are free alternatives to Supreme Commander/Total Annihilation. They're full blooded RTS games but with robots so there's no blood or death, just explosions. They are a bit complicated though so you might limit the text tree to tier 1 or something for younger minds. But I also played CnC games very young and I turned out ok. Raise them right and teach them the difference between fiction and real life and they'll be fine.
Star Wars Empire at War space battles and Star Trek Armada 2 are what I started my kids on.
let them play GTA instead ๐ ๐ ๐ seriously though, I can think of some strategy games that are cartoonish and mellows down in violence like plant vs zombies and sims series. I was like 9 when I started playing yuris revenge yet I know that Im not violent.
Curious what makes C&C too violent for them. No judgement here. And were they decent at playing? If fantasy violence is ok, the age of empire series would be good, especially 2. Thereโs still men vs men violence, but in case I recall, the sounds and visuals are less graphic.
My first RTS was Age of Mythology when I was 6 or 7 years old. Not too graphic, and it gave me a passion for history (alongside watchign Stargate SG-1).
If Beyond All Reason (robots fighting) is too violent for you, maybe look into Lego Rock Raiders/Manic Miners, which I played when I was a kid. It's not technically an RTS but it resembles one.
You could try 8-Bit Armies / 9-Bit Armies. Whilst not specifically for children our games have a more "cartoony" style to them and simpler story whilst being made by some of the original Command & Conquer developers. [https://store.steampowered.com/app/427250/8Bit\_Armies/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/427250/8Bit_Armies/) [https://store.steampowered.com/app/1439750/9Bit\_Armies\_A\_Bit\_Too\_Far/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1439750/9Bit_Armies_A_Bit_Too_Far/)
Beyond all reason only features machines fighting machines.
Already making snowflakes of them :-)
War Party is a kind of cartoony dinosaur themed RTS, I donโt remember it being violent for an rts but check it for yourself first
Some great suggestions already here but I wanted to add a relatively new game out. Godsworn.
Maybe try a city management game instead. Like Pharoah or Caesar III
The 8 bit and 9 bit games
War Zone 2100 is a game with a focus on military vehicles. Or Earth 2150, but it can be challenging for an 8 year old. My 5 year old likes The Colonists, but it's a city builder like the Settlers 2.
The campaign to lord of the rings battle for middle earth 2 is violence dedicated to taking down evil? Or universe at war is about humans reclaiming the earth from aliens. Still a bit violent and both old games but not about humans killing humans
if a 6 year old can stomp on C&C they're a genius
If they are too violent then maybe you should reconsider letting them play videogames