Fortnite is undoubtedly the most famous open-world battle royale game out there. You probably already hear about it all day from your kids, but what exactly is it?
In Fortnite, 100 players compete against one another in real-time to survive the longest and become the last man standing by fighting other players’ characters in various ways while also trying to survive an approaching storm that can kill them as well.
Now, the premise of Fortnite does seem a bit aggressive and violent, so should you let your kids play it?
Parents should let their 12+ years old children play Fortnite in a regulated manner because it’s a fun experience for them and develops their thinking abilities and social skills.
Fortnite is rated T for Teen by the ESRB for violence. Now, I understand that the game has an aspect of violence to it which can be concerning for many parents but believe me, its Pros heavily outweigh the Cons as long as you regulate your kids’ playing time and manner properly.
Benefits of Playing Fortnite
- Enhancing Thinking Skills- Every Fortnite match is a stretched yet fast-paced experience where players have to collect required resources and select proper weapons to outlast their enemies.
In a combat situation, players have to lay traps and build defensive structures to outsmart and outmaneuver other players and come out on top, which can significantly help kids thinking skills even in real life!
- Teamwork- Apart from its single-player mode, Fortnite can also be played in Duos (2 players team) and Squad (4 players team) mode.
In these modes, rather than being the last person to survive, a team must collaborate to be the last team to stay alive against all the other teams, which improves players’ communication skills and teach them the importance of teamwork.
- Socialization- Duos and Squad mode are also an excellent way for your kids to socialize with other players in their team from the safe environment of their home.
- Short Gaming Time- Commonly, a Fortnite match lasts for about 20 minutes, which is significantly less than any other single-player campaign game or open-world survival game.
This short time frame minimizes the screen time and thus, can be easily regulated.
- Free-to-Play- The best of all, Fortnite is free-to-play, which means it does not cost any money to download and play, that is, unless you fall into the traps of micro-transaction and get addicted to buying cool-looking skins for your player model.
Drawbacks of Playing Fortnite
- Violence- Again, Fortnite indeed has violence. However, it’s not gruesome in any way. There is no bloodshed or gore when a player dies; instead, they simply disappear with the flash of a light.
- Open Chat- As Fortnite has an open chat feature, it can be a serious concern for parents as their children may get exposed to inappropriate language.
Luckily, you can turn this feature off according to your needs.
- Microtransaction/ In-app Purchase- Fortnite has a flashy in-game market that features a ton of cool-looking skins and items that may lure your kids into buying them by paying some serious amount of real-life currency.
So, in case you have a credit card connected to your gaming accounts, it is recommended to put a parental block on it just to be safe. Also, make sure to regulate your kids’ spending on such games.
- Addiction- Fortnite can be severely addicting if not appropriately regulated as it offers a short span of gameplay (~20 minutes) for every round and rewards the player for winning it.
This quick play and reward scenario can cause players to keep playing round after round just to get that victory royale, which can result in them clinging to the screen for an unhealthy amount of time.
So, make sure to regulate your kids’ screen time.
In my opinion, all these cons can be easily avoided, so you should definitely let your kids enjoy Fortnite as long as they are of the appropriate age.
About Fortnite
Fortnite is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play battle royale game in which up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing;
Fortnite: Save the World, a cooperative hybrid tower defense-shooter and survival game in which up to four players fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects with traps and fortifications they can build; and Fortnite Creative, in which players are given complete freedom to create worlds and battle arenas.
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