Roblox Guide

Why You Should Play Roblox

Do you own a large library of games but never know which one to play? Or maybe you only have a couple of games in rotation and want to add more. Either way, why not give Roblox a try? If you haven’t already jumped on the Roblox hype train, Roblox is part gaming platform, part game creation software, designed to engage young, imaginative minds. So if you have a knack for creating puzzles and games (or have a young one who does) and see yourself as a future game developer, then Roblox should be within your reach. Even if you’re just in it to try out games, there are literally tens of thousands of games to choose from, so consider yourself spoiled for choice.

If you enjoy other games about building… well, games, such as Super Mario Maker and Minecraft, then Roblox shouldn’t present too steep a learning curve for you. But even so, it’s not a deal-breaker if you don’t, because Roblox is fairly easy to pick up, and part of the fun is learning how to play it. It’s available on Windows, macOS and Android. And not only is it free to play, you can even make money on it fast!

Your First Steps

To start, let’s talk about the different processes you’ll go through after downloading and installing the game on your preferred device. Naturally, you’ll first need to register an account. This step should be pretty clear. After that, you’ll be redirected to the Games page, which lists all the popular and new titles available, all of them created through Roblox.

As you navigate the user interface, you’ll notice a total of five different tabs you can enter. On the Home tab, you’ll find your profile customization options, as well as the games you enjoy. The Games tab shows you all the latest releases on the platform. You can customize your in-game avatar on the Avatar tab. If you’re a passionate fan of cosmetics and character customization, you’ll probably spend a good chunk of time between the Avatar menu and the in-game store. Chat is the communication feature on Roblox. And finally, the More tab shows you the general game settings, your inventory and the games you own, among other things.

If you go a little further into the Games section, you’ll notice the games themselves are divided into several categories. This should make it easier to find a game you might want to try. Below the thumbnails, you’ll also see two values: the one on the left, marked with a thumbs-up icon, shows the number of users who liked a particular game, and the person icon on the right shows the number of users who have played it. This can be a good indicator of whether or not a game has been well received by the wider public. Just like in the App Store or Google Play Store, some games are available to you for free, while others will charge you to download. Roblox’s currency is called Robux, and it is the only currency used in any in-game transaction.

The Benefits of Roblox

As we mentioned earlier, Roblox is completely free to install and play. Players won’t be charged a penny for hosting servers and simply playing with friends and strangers. This is in complete contrast to Minecraft, which charges a monthly premium for hosting servers. And unlike Minecraft, which centers the art of building around blocks of equal shape and size, Roblox offers more variety with different objects and expands players’ creativity.

When it comes to monetization, Roblox mostly deals in Robux. This applies to downloading certain games, as well as in-game purchases, depending on the game. If you’re thinking about getting Robux for yourself or your kids, the Builders Club is a good choice. The Builders Club is essentially a monthly Roblox subscription that gives you a regular supply of Robux, as well as other goodies. You can then use this Robux to buy games and even customization options for your own Avatar. And if your games are good enough to make a decent profit, you can cash out your Robux by converting it into real-life currency. We believe this would be a great way to teach young minds the importance of money.

This next one goes out to those of us with kids: Roblox is definitely safe to download and play. The premise of the whole platform is designed to suit children’s minds, and the company works hard to filter out any use of strong language in chats and strictly enforces these rules by banning any user who violates the code of conduct. Parents and guardians can also make many other content control adjustments at their own discretion. In addition, Roblox is an official member of various child-focused safety groups, such as the Family Online Safety Institute and the kidSAFE Seal Program, which help protect young people from the dangers of the internet. It also helps that many games on Roblox are designed for kids, by kids.

Another thing to add is that Roblox offers many educational benefits for teaching children the basics of problem-solving and programming, while letting them fully embrace their innovation and creativity at the same time. Compared to Minecraft, Roblox is fairly easy to pick up. It uses a scripting language called Lua, which is widely used by many major software companies, such as Adobe and Firefox, and giving your child an early start can help them develop a knack for it (a skill that will undoubtedly help them in our technology-driven society), or better yet, let them find a passion they can fully commit to. There are numerous real-world concepts to be found in Roblox (the economics of its in-game currency and marketplace, for example, can be compared to the supply and demand issues we face in the real world today), and Lua makes an excellent tutor when it comes to math and programming. You can also find numerous courses online that can take their programming skills up a notch and further improve their thought processes when it comes to problem-solving.

The Best Roblox Games for Kids and Teens

You may already know that Roblox is completely safe for kids. Even so, we advise you to look carefully at the content your child has access to on Roblox. This is because, although Roblox itself is rated PEGI 7, the individual games on it don’t necessarily fall under that rating, since they are user-generated content. With that in mind, it is extremely important to be aware of the games, and by extension the type of content, your child regularly engages with.

While we’re not in a position to give parenting advice, steering your child’s interests toward games with a milder environment, instead of shutting out content that seems inappropriate at first glance, can help develop their passions and skills in the long run. To that end, here are a few games you might consider if your little one ever shows an interest in these kinds of genres:

Adopt Me!

There are no complex systems or deep storytelling in Adopt Me!. The basis of the game is simple enough: you adopt a pet and take care of it. It’s the Gen Z equivalent of the Tamagotchi, just without all the annoying features that those of us who actually owned the device loved and hated at the same time. Pets come in different rarity ratings, some of which you can unlock fairly easily without investing too much time (and money) into the game. However, there is an extra incentive to put in more hours and buy eggs with real money to get those extremely rare and hard-to-find pets. Pets can be trained by completing certain tasks, and once a pet is fully grown, you can trade it for a glowing pet of higher rarity. There are also quality-of-life features, such as owning your own house and vehicles, which you can freely customize.

All in all, Adopt Me! is a great way to start teaching your kids the responsibilities of caring for another living being, but without the risks and commitments of owning a real pet, and it’s almost entirely fun. Parents or guardians are also encouraged to join their kids and get involved to make the experience more rewarding and memorable. Not to mention, there’s no better way to teach your kids the important art of not maxing out your credit card.

And if your kids become interested in these kinds of games, you can even move them on to other titles, such as Animal Crossing, Ooblets and Viva Piñata, which are equally fun and educational in their own right.

Phantom Forces

If your child is more into skill-based games, then Phantom Forces might be the one for you. As threatening as it may sound, it’s nowhere near as violent and graphic as other titles like Call of Duty or Battlefield. The art style is fairly cartoonish in nature, but it still depicts acts of violence in the form of using weapons to injure, incapacitate and kill. With that in mind, if your child shows an interest in games like this but isn’t old enough to play Battlefield, consider easing them into these less gory alternatives. Because, let’s be real, banning these games outright has generally proven counterproductive, if anything.

Furthermore, a competitive spirit does wonders for a child’s development. Games like Phantom Forces also have a large player base, which can serve as a good way for kids to socialize with peers who share similar interests. With proper parental supervision, of course.

Similar games you might consider include Otterman Empire, Splatoon and Screencheat.

Jailbreak

If your child loves role-playing, Jailbreak is a fun option. Players are split into two teams: cops and robbers. The robbers will try to escape from prison in the hope of finding their hideout, and then move on to pulling off heists and robberies; the cops will try to stop them by tracking the robbers down, catching them and putting them back in prison. It’s very reminiscent of the old cops and robbers game some of us played as kids, given a new lease on life online. The game has since become quite extensive and offers a wide selection of different heists for players to try.

Although there is a certain level of weapons and violence, the game is still very much played in the traditional style of cops and robbers. This could be a good way to spend those family weekends with relatively little effort but twice the fun. And if Jailbreak seems like a good choice to you, you can also consider games like Lego City Undercover, Crazy Taxi, The Simpsons: Hit & Run and Hide and Seek Extreme.

MeepCity

For those of us with a history of playing The Sims, MeepCity is the new kid on the block. Like The Sims in all its iterations, MeepCity focuses on the social side of everyday life and encourages players to fully build their own ideal lives in the game. Players will be able to build and customize their own houses as they see fit and take part in various activities with other players, including fishing, street racing and an obstacle course.

If you have a child who loves playing house, MeepCity can be a viable option to consider, but if that’s not up your alley, there are also other games like Blankos Block Party, Stardew Valley, Brookhaven RP and Animal Crossing.

Murder Mystery

This one is meant for relatively older age groups. As you may have guessed from the title, Murder Mystery involves a group of players with defined roles: a murderer who secretly goes around killing people, a sheriff who tries to figure out who among the group is the culprit, and the remaining innocents, who help uncover and identify the killer.

If you enjoy games like Among Us, Murder Mystery should also prove to be a fun experience. It also includes collecting and trading features.

How to Build Your Own Roblox Game

If none of the games above appeal to you, consider creating your own game from scratch. Roblox, at its core, is game creation software, and those interested can fully build and upload their games within the platform itself.

To get started, you need to open Roblox Studio, which you can access completely free through your Roblox account. If you play in a browser, you’ll need to download Roblox Studio to your computer. At the start, simply select Create New Game and you’ll be redirected to a list of templates you can build your game with. And if you want to build everything from the ground up, you can do so by selecting the Baseplate option. At this stage, you’ll also give your game a name and choose whether or not you want it to be publicly visible.

Roblox has plenty of customization settings to play with, so take your time and work on it as you see fit. We understand that coding can seem a little intimidating at first, so we highly recommend checking out any of the beginner tutorials on YouTube for guidance if you’re not sure where to start. Roblox also has its own Developer Hub, a shared library of tutorials, patch notes and other information that may come in handy.

When you’re finally ready to release your game to the world, all you need to do is change the game settings to Public instead of Private.

Tips and Tricks

It’s Generally Fine to Give Kids Freedom, but Set Up Proper Parental Controls First

While we believe in letting kids freely choose the games that interest them, it goes without saying that properly researching a game can help you determine whether it’s safe for them to play. This means reading user reviews (especially the bad ones) to find out whether there are any potential dangers in letting a young child play that kind of game, and if it’s not a good idea, it’s best to look for alternatives. What matters here is understanding your child’s interests so you can find some healthy options they can enjoy without putting themselves at risk. Fortunately, Roblox has a fairly extensive game library, and finding a suitable game only takes a little elbow grease.

Teach Your Kids to Use the Available Resources When Building Their Own Game

Like it or not, the ability to do proper research is an acquired skill that only comes with a lot of experience in filtering out irrelevant information from your source materials. More often than not, kids won’t have developed such a discerning eye yet, since they are excellent sponges for information. As parents and guardians, it’s our responsibility to guide them properly in gathering information from the right sources, especially on platforms like YouTube, where it’s easy to get lost in the entertainment side of it all instead of focusing on learning. Guided support when it comes to research will not only help your kids focus and learn the subject better, but also contribute to developing their research skills, a skill that will clearly benefit them greatly in the future.

Make It a Family Activity

As adults, we don’t always have time to supervise our kids 24 hours a day, especially if we work. However, we still recommend spending at least a few hours a week just playing with your child. Nobody says Roblox has to be played only by kids, and engaging with their interests will not only make the game more enjoyable for them, but you may also discover a growing fascination with the game yourself. Not to mention, what better way to judge for yourself whether the game is really as good as so many other users have claimed?