Are Your Kids Playing Harmful or Inappropriate Roblox Games?

Among the many parenting challenges moms and dads face today is the availability of websites, apps, and games that kids have access to—and parents may not know how their children are spending their time...or with whom. Take the immensely popular video game, Roblox, a digital gaming playground for 80 million daily active users—a third of whom are under the age of thirteen. Roblox offers a vast array of games that can entertain kids for hours—even days—on end. Unfortunately, Roblox’s entertainment value is mitigated by numerous dangers and downsides.

Many parents don’t know if their kids are playing Roblox—or whether they’re playing games with troubling characteristics.

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What is Roblox?

Roblox is not a single game, but a universe of games that launched in 2006 and has since grown exponentially, around the world. The platform offers users a variety of games, some more suitable for kids than others. It also allows users to create their own games and share them with other players; as a result, there are millions of games in the platform, from tower defense to murder mystery, scuba diving, and building and running a theme park. A strong social aspect is built into the platform, allowing the game’s players to contact, chat with, and share information with other players. It’s available for computers, mobile devices, and game consoles—basically everywhere people might play games.

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What Age is Appropriate for Roblox?

Roblox is rated as designed for ages 13 and up, but as already mentioned, millions of children below that age are playing Roblox’s games. Common Sense Media points out that many games use “cartoony” weapons and violence as well as profanity and sexual content, themes, and activity. 

While Roblox claims to monitor content, many users report having encountered not only inappropriate but disturbing content, such as simulated sex acts and rape scenes in some games.

Roblox has privacy settings and parental controls (see below) but such safeguards have generally proven inadequate.

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Ten Inappropriate Roblox Games

With more than 40 million Roblox games available, and more being added every day, it’s impossible for parents–or anyone–to stay on top of everything a game-playing child may access. However, the following ten game descriptions will give parents some concerning content to watch for:

Piggy

While the pigs in this game bear a resemblance to the immensely popular Peppa Pig series, this is a horror game with repeated violence in the gameplay.

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Dance Club

In this game, players dance for and with each other, often in seductive and explicit ways, and romantic liaisons often occur between players.

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Cabin Roleplay

This is a game ostensibly about chilling with friends in a cabin with a fireplace. The game isn't overtly inappropriate but there's little moderation for which cabin you join, and the game's voice chat makes young players vulnerable.

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Poppy Playtime

Multiple Poppy Playtime multiplayer games can be found on Roblox, which feature graphic violence and few safeguards for younger players.

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Rainbow Friends

Rainbow Friends looks harmless at first glance, with colorful graphics that will appeal to children. But this game about kids going on a field trip is actually a horror game depicting acts of extreme violence.

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Shower Simulator

Some reviews say that this game has been repeatedly removed from Roblox for its inappropriate content (players enter a communal shower in swim clothes, often leading to sexual conversations between players).

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Survive the Killer

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In this game, the player is being hunted by a masked killer. The scenario is, of course, designed to be scary and (also of course) leads to intense chase sequences and bloody violence.

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Bloody Battles

The name describes the game. The player enters a battle against another player and inflicts or suffers graphic, horrific violence.

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Mortem Metallic

Similar to Bloody Battles, this is a fighting game in which players face and inflict bloody damage on opponents.

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Alone in a Dark House

This is another horror game, in which the player (either alone or with other players) play detective to solve murders in a dark abandoned house. The game is designed to scare the player repeatedly.

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Is Roblox Aligned with Your Family's Values?

Can a mother or father be vigilant enough to prevent exposure to content that doesn’t align with Christian values? The more you know about Roblox and its risks for game-playing children, the more you may long for a simpler and safer alternative. That’s exactly why the TruPlay mobile app—a platform of multiple games, yet with none of the concerning content or vulnerabilities of Roblox—was created.

The TruPlay app offers countless hours of games, comics, and animated shorts that feature high quality art, action-packed games, and thoughtful storytelling. Each offering is infused with God’s Truth. It is a Christian resource for all ages, but especially for children. It is sometimes referred to as “the Netflix of Christian mobile games for children.” But it's intentionally structured to avoid the dangers of games such as Roblox.

TruPlay employs a subscription-based model, which allows children and adults to play, read, and have fun in an environment with no in-app purchases, no ads, and no in-app texting or chats. This means, of course, that kids can't spend money, buy "loot," click to go to outside and unknown sites, and "chat" with possible predators.

Beyond that, however, TruPlay offers even more than safety; its ever-expanding selection of games includes Bible stories, Christian themes and values, and countless hours of engaging fun for children, youth, and adults.

TruPlay's website (TruPlayGames.com) clearly details the app's offerings, and free downloads and trials are available in both the Apple App Store and GooglePlay. Explore the following links to unlock a safer gaming experience for your kids:

● https://www.truplaygames.com/games-more

● https://www.truplaygames.com/user-registration

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