I'm a secret santa but don't know what kids like

[bodisha]

I'm a secret Santa this year through a charity that helps provide Christmas gifts to underprivileged kids. I pulled the name of a 10 year old girl out of the hat so to speak. In her letter to "Santa", she said she likes video games and has a Nitendo DS. The problem is I'm not a big gamer, and I sure don't know what sort of video games a 10 year old girl would like. I googled "Top video games for girls", most of the lists I saw were a couple years old, and not sure if they'd be games kids would really like or not. Could any gamers offer any game titles they think would be appropriate for a girl? thanks!

 

[KrabbyPatty]

What was the budget for the secret santa? I would think video games wouldn't fit the bill. It will be hard to pick a title out without knowing her likes and dislikes. Or what games she already owns. Whenever you are asking for games from "santa". You want to be very specific to the game you want. Did she put anything other than video games on her list?

 

[KamikaziKitty]

I'm a secret Santa this year through a charity that helps provide Christmas gifts to underprivileged kids. I pulled the name of a 10 year old girl out of the hat so to speak. In her letter to "Santa", she said she likes video games and has a Nitendo DS. The problem is I'm not a big gamer, and I sure don't know what sort of video games a 10 year old girl would like. I googled "Top video games for girls", most of the lists I saw were a couple years old, and not sure if they'd be games kids would really like or not. Could any gamers offer any game titles they think would be appropriate for a girl? thanks!

Video games for a DS isn't exactly super expensive last I checked but it might be the region I'm in as well. I may have had an old school handheld nintendo brick but the two games I played the absolute most were Tetris and Kirby's Dreamland. I had a weird obsession with that pink little blob that ate everything...

 

[LilyEvans]

Honestly, forget about "girl" games. When I was her age I would have been pretty pissed to get a "girl" game like Barbie's Horse Adventure or some crap.

First of all, unless she said she has a Nintendo 3DS, make sure you get a a DS game, NOT A 3DS game. A 3DS can play a regular DS game, but a DS canNOT play a 3DS game. So if she did not specify, you should probably err on the side of caution. It would suck to give her a game she can't play!

Here are my game recommendations:

* Animal Crossing. There are several to choose from, including New Leaf and Wide World. These games are life simulators and are lots of fun! You basically play a little character who runs around town making friends with all the animal inhabitants and doing things like fishing, bug catching, and decorating your home.

* Harvest Moon. Titles include Harvest Moon DS, Harvest Moon DS Cute (where the player controls a female protagonist), Island of Happiness, and A Tale of Two Towns. Similar to Animal Crossing, with more focus on farming. You make friends, raise animal and crops, fish, and so forth. In most of the games you find a partner to marry as you go through the game trying to save the Harvest Goddess.

* Super Scribblenauts. This game is so so fun. It's an interesting puzzle game. You get plopped into a puzzle and must figure out how to solve it. You write a word on a notepad, and whatever you have written will appear! (For example: The puzzle might be, "Help Santa deliver his presents!" And you could write "sleigh", "flying reindeer", and "chimney" and they would appear. Or you can get creative and replace the reindeer with flying dinosaurs, or a jetpack.

* Nintendogs. These games are about taking care of a cute virtual puppy. Think 2013 Tamagotchi. i haven't played this game but it's very popular and seems well-like with younger preteen kids.

* Tetris DS: A classic.

* Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

* Pokemon Heart Gold or Soul Silver. Kids go fucking nuts over Pokemon. Also so do I. Pokemon games rule.

* New Super Mario Bros. Or anything with Mario in the title. Seriously, you CANNOT go wrong with a Mario game. Or Donkey Kong, or Kirby, now that I think about it.


All the games I listed above are low on violence and should be appropriate for a little girl! They're all fun enough for a girly-girl without the off-putting Princess formula that some girls HATE. Good luck, and you're doing a good thing!

 

[KrabbyPatty]

You are correct they seem to run $15-50 at the most. They can be bought pre owned if the OP wants to do that. The large majority of the games seem to be pokemon and mario related. I always enjoyed the kart games. One to look at could be Namco Museum DS.

 

[KaterinaPryde]

Since she didn't put a title of a game she would like down either buy one of the games Lilly listed and give a gift receipt so she can exchange it or give her a gift card with a cute card holder.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Just a thought. Since you run the risk of getting her a game she already owns, how about related stuff?

 

[bodisha]

What was the budget for the secret santa? I would think video games wouldn't fit the bill. It will be hard to pick a title out without knowing her likes and dislikes. Or what games she already owns. Whenever you are asking for games from "santa". You want to be very specific to the game you want. Did she put anything other than video games on her list?

Thanks for the reply... In her letter to "Santa" she said she liked video games and had a DS and that's pretty much it. I don't know her at all and don't know what games she already has. My recommended budget is $25. I've looked and games for the DS seem pretty cheap, but I just don't know what 10 yr olds like. The barbie games seemed to juvenile to me, and I'm ruling out war games like Call of Duty. Other than that I have no clue what would be a good game for her on Nintendo DS.

Any help you could offer would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[bodisha]

Just a thought. Since you run the risk of getting her a game she already owns, how about related stuff?

excellent suggestion... thanks!

 

[bodisha]

Video games for a DS isn't exactly super expensive last I checked but it might be the region I'm in as well. I may have had an old school handheld nintendo brick but the two games I played the absolute most were Tetris and Kirby's Dreamland. I had a weird obsession with that pink little blob that ate everything...

Thanks for the suggestions!!

 

[bodisha]

Here are my game recommendations:

Thanks for the tips and suggestions... HUGE help!!!

 

[bodisha]

You are correct they seem to run $15-50 at the most. They can be bought pre owned if the OP wants to do that. The large majority of the games seem to be pokemon and mario related. I always enjoyed the kart games. One to look at could be Namco Museum DS.

Thanks for the suggestions!!!

 

[bodisha]

Since she didn't put a title of a game she would like down either buy one of the games Lilly listed and give a gift receipt so she can exchange it or give her a gift card with a cute card holder.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[KylieJacobs]

I would definitely recommend one of the games that LilyEvans said. Plus a gift receipt like Katerina said.

I think she would be happier getting a game for Christmas rather than a case and accessories. 10 year olds, like toys! :-D

 

[zippypinhead]

If my nieces are any indication, LilyEvans' list is spot on. In particular, Animal Crossing and Pokemon are favorites among the kids I know, both of which have pretty new versions that recently came out and are all the rage, and I would put in a good word for Scribblenauts, as well. It's fun as heck!

 

[Jessi]

pokemonpokemonpokemonpokemon


FireEmblem is also a great series similar to FF.