Searching for games like Minecraft for kids mostly gets you lists sorted by "fun", written by people who never checked what happens when a seven-year-old taps the chat button. I'd rather sort by age and tell you what's actually inside each game: the official rating, whether strangers can talk to your kid, and what it costs. Everything below was checked in November 2026, so prices and settings can have shifted since. Look at the storefront before you buy.
How to read the age ratings
ESRB's "E10+" means Everyone 10 and up. The App Store's "4+" is Apple's own scale. Neither one tells you what other players can say to your child: ESRB flags "Users Interact" when a game has online player interaction, but it doesn't rate what players actually say. So the rating is a starting point. The chat settings are the part that matters.
Under 8: start with these
Toca Boca World
Fair warning: this isn't a block-building survival game. It's dress-up, home design and make-believe, and it's the gentlest "build your own little world" pick for the youngest kids. Think dollhouse, not Minecraft.
- Rating: 4+ on the App Store, with in-app controls including parental controls. Listed as "Made for Ages 6-8".
- Chat and strangers: The listing calls it a single-player kids' game with no chat and no strangers. It also says COPPA compliant and no third-party ads.
- Cost: Free to download, with in-app purchases. The extra packs I saw ran from $0.99 to $4.99 each, with no subscription listed. Prices change with updates.
- Platforms: iPhone, iPad, and Mac with an M1 chip or newer.
- The catch: The store's page shows lots of paid packs, and reviews in 2024 to 2026 complain about bugs, lost progress and paywalls. Set the purchase lock before you hand it over.
Minecraft itself, on a child account
Plenty of parents asking for Minecraft alternatives would be fine with Minecraft if the settings were right. Minecraft's own parents' guide recommends PEGI 7 and ESRB Everyone 10+. On both Java and Bedrock, multiplayer is off by default on child accounts. Anyone under 16 in the US and EU (19 in South Korea) gets a child account, and it can't exist without an adult Microsoft account. Only an adult account can change the family settings, like turning multiplayer on. So a young kid can build in a single-player world with nobody else in it until you decide otherwise.
ESRB's badge on Minecraft's site also flags in-game purchases and "Users Interact". My full walkthrough is in is Minecraft safe for kids, and the click-by-click settings are in the Minecraft parental controls guide. For what Minecraft costs, see is Minecraft free.
Ages 8 to 12: bigger worlds, more to check
LEGO Fortnite
This is survival with LEGO bricks: gather food, craft tools, build shelters, fight crabs, wolves and skeletons that burst into LEGO pieces when they lose. It's the most Minecraft-shaped thing on this list that's free.
- Rating: ESRB E10+ for Fantasy Violence, plus Users Interact and In-Game Purchases.
- Chat and strangers: It lives inside Fortnite, so it has Fortnite's online features. LEGO's parents' guide says Fortnite's parental controls cover voice and text chat, real-money purchases, friend requests, and which experiences a child can play based on age rating. Each console or PC also has its own controls.
- Cost: LEGO says the game is available for free. Spending happens in V-Bucks.
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, with crossplay built in.
- Modes: LEGO Fortnite Odyssey (the original survival game, with Sandbox and Cozy modes that take most of the survival pressure away), LEGO Fortnite Islands, and LEGO Fortnite Brick Life, a social city game. Each one carries its own rating in the Fortnite launcher, so check the one your kid is actually opening.
My advice: if you pick this, sit with them and set up the parental controls first.
Dragon Quest Builders 2
A story-driven builder: you play a "builder" who mines, crafts, builds towns and fights monsters and bosses with axes and magic. It's more of a guided adventure than an open sandbox, which some kids love and some find bossy.
- Rating: ESRB E10+, with descriptors for Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language and Suggestive Themes. ESRB notes some suggestive text, bunny-costume dancers, and "damn" and "hell" in the dialogue. Common Sense Media recommends it for 8+ (that listing was last updated in February 2023), but I'd go with the official 10+.
- Chat and strangers: ESRB flags Users Interact. On Switch, online play for up to four players needs a Nintendo Switch Online subscription and a Nintendo Account. Local wireless works for two to four players.
- Cost: $49.99 for the Switch digital version as of November 2026, one-time. Extra DLC packs run $5.99 to $9.99, and one is free. That's full price, so be sure they'll stick with it.
- Platforms: Switch, PS4 and Windows PC, plus Xbox according to Common Sense Media.
Teens: Terraria, in one line
Terraria is rated T for Teen by ESRB (violence, blood, suggestive themes, alcohol use), so I'd skip it until they're older. It's $9.99 on Steam as of November 2026, and it has single-player, online co-op and PvP. If you want to know more, there's games like Terraria.
Roblox, for contrast
Roblox is the other game parents ask about, and it's a different beast. I cover how the two stack up in Minecraft vs Roblox, and if Roblox is what you're replacing, read safe games like Roblox for kids instead.
At a glance
| Game | Rating | Chat / online | Cost (Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toca Boca World | App Store 4+, "Made for Ages 6-8" | Single-player, no chat | Free, optional packs $0.99 to $4.99 |
| Minecraft (child account) | ESRB E10+, PEGI 7 | Multiplayer off by default | See is Minecraft free |
| LEGO Fortnite | ESRB E10+ | Online, parental controls for chat | Free, V-Bucks purchases |
| Dragon Quest Builders 2 | ESRB E10+ | Online co-op needs Switch Online | $49.99 on Switch |
| Terraria | ESRB T | Online co-op and PvP | $9.99 on Steam |
Which one for which age?
- 4 to 7: Toca Boca World for pretend play. For a 5-year-old, that's where I'd start. Minecraft's own guide points to PEGI 7, so from 7 a child account with multiplayer left off is the next step.
- 8 to 9: Minecraft is the safest bet. Turn multiplayer on later, when you're ready.
- 10 to 12: LEGO Fortnite if the parental controls are set up, Dragon Quest Builders 2 if they like story.
- Teens: Terraria.
If the thing you actually need is a free option, my roundup of the best free games like Minecraft is the one to read, and best building games covers the wider genre.