Is this game good for young kids? or is it too complex?

[Mysticjon]

I was thinking of getting this as a game i might play with my Daughter, Age 4, but behaves more like a 6 or 7 year old.

Is this something that would keep her attention? how long does it take to get a 'successful project' completed?

she is very interested in Space, space rockets and planets. and also loves to play games with Daddy (usually on 30-40 minute stints)

[internetrules]

if she is interested in space and rockets and planets then this game should be fun.

alot of this game is just designing things, not as much flying them, alot of trial and error

the main difficulty for new players to this game is getting use to all the parts, so i reccomend playing the tutorials, and then playing in carrer mode, but change the carrer mode settings so you make alot of money, and average research. that way it will be hard to lose in carrer mode, and you will not be overwhelmed by all the parts.

[Manwith Noname]

Science mode is also good for learning each part progressively.

[Jupiter3927]

The game is set up as 'rocket science for everyone' and I think it's rated E.
Rocket parts snap together like legos and you can do trial and error all you want.
It's possible to kill your astronauts but there's never any blood.

You can get a successful moon landing done in under 30 minutes with timewarp.
Other planets can take longer and usually want longer burn times and more complex construction.

[Chibbity]

Kids can have a lot of fun making silly contraptions, and blowing stuff up, exploring Kerbin, etc..

She might need some supervision and help from you to make any real progress in the game though.

It doesn't take long at all to slap together a working rocket if you know what you are doing, and time warp is available so missions go quick too, I think you two would have fun with the game, it's on sale atm as well!

[Toastie Buns]

Yeah screw it get her the game we'll add roofcat to her friends list and he can teach her rocket effeciency lololol

[Operation40]

I like how the career unfolds, you only have a few parts at the beginning, so it's not overwhelming..

also I like the idea of a 4yo knowing what a 'retrograde burn' is, that would be awesome.

[Mightylink]

Kid's can learn anything if they like it. I was building complicated k'nex roller coasters when I was a wee lad. I wish we had video games like Kerbal back then.

[ImCardBored]

I first got this game when I was 10 and my 5 year old brother loved it too. He hates science yet he could still get to orbit.

[MaGicBush]

My son use to play it a lot, but just liked designing rockets and watching them blow up lol. He never could figure out how to get one into space, and when I tried to show him he lost interest. He was 8 when I got this. He is somewhat interested in space, but not really. So if the kid has interest I would say yes, other-wise its fun for a short lived while.

[f_m_85]

In my opinion playing it alone is way too complex for smaller children. While they can often achieve a lot using trial&error and intuitive learning, without basic understanding of things like orbital mechanics, thrust to weight ratio etc. you won't get far in this game.

It is a fantastic game but it has a steep learning curve. That steep learning curve can lead to some frustration in the beginning.

While i don't know how good your daughter deals with frustration when something doesn't work as expected, i think it would be a good idea to first watch some tutorials on Youtube (people like Scott Manley create fantastic KSP related content) and learn the basic game mechanics by yourself.

That experience should then allow easier mission in one session (e.g. built a satellite and bring it to a specific orbit, plant a flag on a moon etc.). The more complex missions would require multiple sessions, especially when you play around with lower gravity on a moon, go for a spacewalk or some other time consuming fun.

[Enorats]

To be honest, I wouldn't trust 95% of the adults I know to make any significant progress towards accomplishing anything in this game. It's not "easy" by any means. It's the type of game you can put several thousand hours into and still be learning new things.

That said, a child could still have fun playing - it just depends on what they want to get out of it. If they want to build crazy contraptions that blow up the moment they load them into the world, that's easy. If they want to send astronauts to the Moon.. that's unlikely. I'd be absolutely astounded if a child that young could so much as manage to put together and fly a basic LKO mission, let alone something requiring transfer or rendezvous maneuvers. With a whole heck of a lot of hand holding, maybe.. but solo? Doubtful.

[Mysticjon]

thanks all for your feedback. just to clarify my 4 yo is not playing this alone. that sure would be impressive.

we are playing it together. Last night we put a kerbal into a shallow orbit and brought him back home - to land in the snow - which she thought was hilarious.

we did have one failed mission first where the pod burnt up on re-entry, i felt like a terrible father, but then i explained that we had a magic button to go back in time and put heat shields on the base of the pod.

right now, i am guideing with the ship design and she presses the staging buttons. (which she loves to so)

I'll udate you all when we get to the moon!

[Jupiter3927]

You can get away without heat shields if you reenter the atmosphere with a high enough periapsis.
30km above the surface should be safe even from the Mun.

[Mysticjon]

moving away from topic then.. do you gain less heat and speed with a shallower descent or a steeper descent? my mind tells me that the higher the perilapse the higher you are when you enter the atmosphere thuis the steeper the fall, but i guess i'm wrong - still learning. is it more down to the duration flying level in the atmoshere at a specific altitude?

[Jupiter3927]

Air pressure and air friction will increase exponentially as you descend deeper into any atmosphere.
Staying higher means you lose less speed and also won't heat up as much.
Go too high and you'll slow down but won't de-orbit yourself.
Going for the thickest part of the atmosphere to slow down will slow you down very fast but will also heat your ship up very fast.

A 30-40km periapsis from orbit is generally the safest and most reliable number to aim for.
You'll slow down enough for a de-orbit but won't heat up enough for anything important to explode.


Steep descents will put you in the thick part of the atmosphere with a ton of speed and you will probably explode.
Shallow descents will keep you in the thin part of the atmosphere for a while.
It's a big balancing act.